This week I attended a lecture by Marc Wilson who discussed his
photographic practice around history and the Holocaust. I also received feedback
from Marc on my current project, ‘seeking out Euphoria’, and was able to look
at his photobook ‘A wounded Landscape – Bearing witness to the Holocaust’ in
person.

Marc’s lecture discussed his practice and experience
photographing various parts of Europe in relation to the Holocaust and
interviewing Holocaust survivors, sharing with us voice clips of the interviews
and his personal experience in various war camps and ghettos around Europe. Marc
was amazing at describing the narratives behind his images and gave us insight into
the context of his work. Images of Ghettos in Poland where survivors had been
held and close-up shots of granules of human bone found on the surface of war
burial sites were all disturbing yet heart breaking. The sadness and loss were reflected
in his photobook ‘A wounded Landscape – Bearing witness to the Holocaust’ which
explored Landscapes associated with the war in relation to survivors’ stories
and experiences.

Marc emphasised the importance of talking to others about projects
that are wanting to raise awareness or create a discussion about an important
subject. I reflected on this within my own project ‘seeking out euphoria’. I
began this project with a desire to educate others on Transgender Identities by
using photography to tell my own narrative about my Transition.

I was also fortunate enough to have Marc look through my
images from my ‘seeking out euphoria project’. Marc’s projects are generally long
running as I intend mine to be, and it was interesting to gain his perspective
on my work and its importance on raising awareness of a subject.

Overall, Marc’s lecture was eye opening and inspiring.
Listening to his personal experience and the narratives the survivors’ narratives
that he visually captured educated me on the Holocaust whilst also evoking sadness
and shock from hearing the words from the mouths of survivors in his
interviews. It also reminded me of the purpose of photography when raising awareness
and the only way that this can be done is through discussing projects with
others.