‘As I worked in Afghanistan for more than a decade,
my photographs have contributed to its representation: the images that we see, the ones we do not and the way they are framed. With time, I have become more aware of the power and the limits of this representation, I have started reflecting on my role and position in this system and began questioning the depth of my understanding of the facts…. Am I fully grasping the events that unfold in front of me or am just trying to reproduce a certain kind of imagery? Am I looking and properly observing or am I emulating a movie that repeats itself on loop in my
outsider’s head?’
The photographs were made whilst Tugnoli
worked for The Washington Post during the peace
negotiations between the US government and the Taliban, followed by the disintegration of the Afghan Republic and the Taliban’s return to power. For the process of making the book, Tugnoli worked in collaboration with researcher Francesca Recchia to review his archive with fresh eyes and search for images which told a different story from that which appeared in the news.
'There were so many layers—things happening behind the scenes that weren’t visible or easy to understand. And especially for us, as Westerners, it was very easy to
misinterpret what we were seeing.’
The photographs in the book are cinematic with dramatic light and shadow, depicting both sweeping landscapes and the details of the everyday—grenades and guns interspersed with domesticity. The formal choice of black and white imagery aims to question the historical authenticity attributed to this traditional medium of
photojournalism, whilst simultaneously making the images difficult to place in a particular time period. Aerial landscape photographs reference the way foreign armies have mostly seen the country from the safety of air
reconnaissance—disconnected from the life on the ground.
Tugnoli intentionally sought out sequences which were ambiguous and lacked clarity. These fragments of places and events with no formal narrative encourage the viewer to look for clues and invite multiple interpretations. The photographer made the decision to place the captions only at the very end of the book—his intent for the
viewer to wander through the ‘world’ of the book, reflecting his own experiences in the country.
‘It is my hope that the book might be part of a more
comprehensive discussion about how we perceive countries that endured occupation, the ethics of storytelling, and the lasting impacts of foreign
interventions on nations like Afghanistan.’
The book is accompanied by a text centred on everyday
family life in Afghanistan by journalist and writer Habib Zahori. This text counters traditional media approaches which can remove focus away from the individual.
The concluding essay is by author and researcher Francesca Recchia.
This book was published thanks to the contribution of EMERGENCY
