240 Pages. 33 x 25 cm. White hardback. Top corners slightly bumped.
UNDEREXPOSED
Edited by Colin Jacobson.
Censorship" is a disturbing concept,
usually referring to the act of someone
in authority who prevents us reading
certain words or seeing certain images.
By implication, it can also mean we are
persuaded to accept phoney material as
genuine or consider a distorted context
as the supposed truth
Traditionally, censorship is associated
with scheming politicians and govern-
ment officials who plot to hide crucial
facts from a gullible public. Years later,
when historians and journalists pore over
newly released official documents, we
discover another version of history
Underexposed investigates some of the
most glaring examples of photographs
which have been banned, doctored
manipulated or supressed in order to
dupe the viewer.
In the current digital revolution
communicators are realising more than
ever what a powerful tool they have at
their disposal. Never before have so
many people been bombarded with
so much visual imagery from so many
directions, Underexposed reminds
us that we have to be alert to false
messages sent out by those who want
us to get the wrong end of the stick.
The victor's account of history may be the one that is recorded, but photojournalism still has the power to undermine the official version. Such is the corrective testimony of this startling collection of banned, suppressed or conveniently forgotten news images depicting moments from the last century where the propaganda needs of politicians, despots and stars clashed with sometimes awkward, sometimes horrifying truths. Incorporating images and text from the Index On Censorship and the Hulton Getty Picture Collection, the images represent a reality check on alleged events from the last hundred years, documenting a power struggle with rival cultural forces of media and information. Reclaimed from the trash cans of the Second World War, Hitler's preening speech rehearsals come back to argue with his self-made myth. From the cruelty of Stalin's Russia to fundamentalist chaos in Iran, via disgruntled starlets, ecological destruction and US nuclear tests, Underexposed gathers some of the most ideologically dangerous photographs ever taken and releases them to haunt the increasingly manipulated, retouched present. With an incisive forward by Colin Jacobson, the book is a seminal work for all those curious about what lies beneath the last century's layers of spin.