Material evidence

About the exhibition of the photo "Beslan" James Hill

In the center of documentary photo Fotodoc at the Sakharov Museum in Moscow, the James Hill exhibition, the Pulitzer Prize laureate and the World Press Photo laureate. The photographer is known for reports from the Middle East, from Afghanistan, Chechnya, fighting Yugoslavia. The black and white series "Beslan" starred for several years since 2004, it was for it that the photographer was awarded WPP.

The exhibition is told by the director of the Fotodoc center Alexander Sorin :

-By the 10th anniversary of the Beslan tragedy, we began to prepare in advance. Sophie Mercya, Swiss, went to the Sakharov Center and said: let's make not just a kind of exhibition about Beslan, but the James Hill exhibition. I remember the work of James Hill since 2004, I have been closely watching what is happening in the field of documentary photography, James Hill in this area is far from the last, I remember this shoot well. In 2004, he began to shoot and returned to Beslan for several years. His shooting was completely contrasted with what we imagined what arose in the head with the phrase "School No. 1 of the city of Beslan." There is no assault, no blood, there are no children, there are no storming and defenders. He began to photograph what was left of the school on September 15. This was sparingly done, like just some material evidence of the horror that took place there. These are walls ridiculed by bullets, these are inscriptions on the walls, these are things of children, hostages, rarely some figures. There are people there, but this is not the main thing. One could say that this is such a shooting that is made as a confirmation for police investigations when they take off their things, some evidence. Yes, literally like evidence, like facts. They are amazing in this sense. Because, apparently, there is some kind of limit of perception, when you can’t look more at blood and so on, you have some protest. But looking at this, the hair begins to stand on end. These simple and stingy photos restore the whole picture and make it incredibly worried, empathize. This is a very strong series, and it was some kind of breakthrough at that moment. It never occurred to anyone to make such an impression on the viewer so simply, elementary.

• Elena Fanailova

The exhibition of photographs about the Beslan tragedy is open at the Fotodoc center (Sakharovsky Museum, Moscow). Filming of the Pulitzer laureate James Hill went for several years.

We not only printed photos, but selected documentary material. Some time passed. I perfectly understand that people who are very vaguely imagined what Beslan can come to the exhibition. And if we, in whom everything exploded in our heads, and we, looking at these photos, continues to explode, they may not understand anything at all. Therefore, we made text posters. These are quotes of hostile children-someone kept a diary (of course, then already), someone was taken from an interview. We made several short quotes and chronology of events. In order for a person who does not know and does not understand anything about it, he could come and figure it out. At the same time, again, without pathological details. I hope that this will be strong and it will be clear to everyone, and not just those who know and empathize well, but also to those who are not very aware.

-Are there several portraits there?

- Yes, there are portraits. There are several exits, as it were, from this school No. 1. This is an exit to neighboring school No. 6, where the academic year began not on September 1, but the number of the 15-16th-with a delay of two weeks. There are simply children at school No. 6, which with the same success could be school No. 1. And you can immediately transfer it all on them, freely or involuntarily. And near the photos of graves. Now there is a memorial called "City of Angels." There are still wooden crosses, this is literally immediately some more or less fresh burial. And the rest of the photos are visitors who came to school, their reaction is visible. But there is no concentration on the expression of human horror, on faces, on tears. For some photographers, this turned out to be somehow completely incredibly, strongly and heartbreaking. But it seems to me that now, on the 10th anniversary of the Beslan tragedy, James Hill with this series is a very correct and strong move, not aimed at “releasing guts” from the viewer.

Of course, the hair stands on end. It is clear that there are a lot of questions of unresolved and unsolved, forever digested and buried. And you understand that you have no strength and moral right to raise them again, because you affect not only those who really had to answer them, but also those who suffered. I really wanted to ask - so, why is this, but why is it unclear, but where did these people come from? A lot of things are. But the language does not turn, because, as I understand it, these unfortunate parents and relatives are so tired of living in this hell that this is fair and necessary for the most part digging in the matters that are unsolvable then it is very painful and personally wounds. I don’t know who has the right to do this, ”says Alexander Sorin .