Edmund Clark
I only really became aware of Edmund Clark's work last year, when I came across a copy of Still Life Killing Time knocking about class. I was immediately drawn to the clean lines and small details of the images, devoid of people, yet intimately focused on the existence of ageing prisoners. So I was pleased when Edmund Clark came to Burton College to give a talk and show work including his more recent Guantamano Bay work, for which he was awarded the British Journal of Photography International Photography Award 2009.
Interested in what was going on in the world and wanting to be self employed, Edmund Clark completed a photo-journalism. After leaving college, he was determined to do his own thing. Wanting to be a photo-journalist, Edmund Clark worked on a project detailing the spread of HIV in the Red Light District of Calcutta. The project showed how sex workers also worked as peer educators, informing others about using condoms and so on. They also had their own trade union and own bank, which afforded great leverage for people who could be seen to be low down in the class structure. It was here, on this self funded trip to Calcutta, that Edmund became aware that he was making pictures for the sensibilities of the Western world. The images were black and white, in stereotypical Magnum style and Edmund found himself questioning his methodology. Should he be taking pictures to impress a judge for an award or because a picture editor prefers a certain style? This made Edmund think more about his approach and how he shot his subjects.
