The Camera Never Lies”: An Exhibition on the Truth in Photography at Sainsbury Centre

The Camera Never Lies”: An Exhibition on the Truth in Photography at Sainsbury Centre

(IN BRIEF) From May 18 to October 20, 2024, the Sainsbury Centre will host “The Camera Never Lies: Challenging Images through The Incite Project,” a pivotal exhibition investigating the truth and manipulation in iconic photography. This exhibit will explore the role of photography in shaping public narratives of major events, featuring over 100 works by renowned photographers like Don McCullin, Stuart Franklin, Robert Capa, and Dorothea Lange, as well as contemporary artists. The exhibition is part of a broader six-month inquiry titled “What is Truth?”, examining the impact of photography on historical events and its potential to distort reality. Highlights include an exploration of how photographs have defined events, the evolving control photographers wield over their images, and a special showcase of Trevor Paglen’s work, which combines art with artificial intelligence to challenge viewers’ perceptions of truth in imagery. Curated by Harriet Logan and Tristan Lund from The Incite Project, the exhibition aims to provoke thought about the reliability and emotional power of photographic images in documenting history and reality.

(PRESS RELEASE) NORWICH, 8-May-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — From 18 May to 20 October 2024, join the Sainsbury Centre for ‘The Camera Never Lies: Challenging images through The Incite Project’: an exhibition re-evaluating the most iconic images of the past 100 years.

Joining the Sainsbury Centre’s six-month long investigation into What is Truth?, this new exhibition will explore the impact and influence photography has had on shaping – and in some cases distorting – the narrative of major global events.

Featuring more than 100 works by legendary photographers, including Don McCullin (b.1935), Stuart Franklin (b.1956), Robert Capa (1913-1954) and Dorothea Lange (1895-1965), as well as modern practitioners, this extensive exhibition will chart a global century of iconic documentation and manipulation.

You can find more information on the Sainsbury Centre website.

The Camera Never Lies: Challenging images through The Incite Project 

18 May – 20 October 2024 

Sometimes seen as superior to text, photographs are now a mainstay of how the media and the public consume events such as war, famine, and celebrity. But is what people see a true reflection of the reality?

The exhibition will first look at how single photographs came to represent and define events through their repeated use in print journalism, and how narratives are shaped by them during and long after the events have occurred. It will explore whether an image captured by an individual photographer, choosing one angle, with a singular crop, can show the whole truth of an event, in addition to showing the power and reach of war photography.

The second part of the show will look at how modern practitioners of photography are using research to inform their imagery, and how they work with much more agency than in the previous century, as now the person behind the lens has more control than the picture editors at newspapers.

The exhibition will conclude with the work of American artist Trevor Paglen (b.1974). Well known for launching his own satellite into space with the sole objective to be looked at, some of Paglen’s space photography will be on display. There will also be a video that the artist made of a string quartet, overlayed with information collected by artificial intelligence. Mimicking the technology that is now being used in self-driving cars, guided missiles and drones, the video will demonstrate how AI can be guided by ethical and political scripts, influencing human interpretation.

Sainsbury Centre Director Dr Jago Cooper said: “The photos on our phone have become the memory bank of our lives – this incredible exhibition brings to life the memories of the world. But are these iconic photos a true reflection of history or merely the images that form our perception of it?”

The Incite Project 

Curated by Harriet Logan and Tristan Lund, the works in ‘The Camera Never Lies: Challenging images through The Incite Project’ are drawn from The Incite Project, a private collection of photojournalism, documentary photography and photographic art with a remit to support contemporary practitioners.

Tristan Lund, curator of the show, said: “The relationship between truth and photography remains one of the most pressing concerns for us at The Incite Project, so it is a privilege to be invited to exhibit the collection at The Sainsbury Centre on this topic”.

“We care deeply about the photographers we work with and the concerns they are addressing. ‘Truth’ is inherent, underlying, or blatant in all their work”.

“The exhibition asks what truths we can really expect to extract from a photograph. Is the succinct and objective sharing of facts the thing we remember most from a single image, or rather is it the emotion triggered by the composition and creativity of the photographer that tells 1,000 words?”

Media Contact:

Tel: +44 (0) 1603 456161

SOURCE: University of East Anglia