Andrea Motta: 1st Moments in Greece
© Andera Motta
The Horror, The Horror of it all
Andrea Motta’s photographs included in this VASA exhibition need no introduction. The situation and conditions of the refugees fleeing what appears to be certain death have been central to the programming of the international news media. Her photographs offer no surprises or new insights into the plights of individuals and families leaving their homes for a hopefully better future. It is no secret that nations, especially the European Union (EU), have been unable, and at times reluctant, to provide assistance to the thousands of refugees arriving in Greece from Turkey. We have witnessed through countless images the heart and soul of the travelers.
Motta’s waterside images of refugees arriving in Greece pull from the iconic paradigm of the portrait. Images that re-present the individual, revealing through brush strokes of paint or light, the presence, the once existence of the individual. The photo-portrait concept takes us one step further into the image as index or referent referencing the very existence of the person pictured in a manner that paintings or drawings can not.
Different from the constructed portrait painting, Motta’s images record the gaze of her subjects, their gaze directed at her (and her camera) and indirectly at us. The images provide our return gaze with information about the pictured. We see individuals, what appears to be families, and a few groups, all surviving the perilous voyage across the sea. Most importantly, Motta reminds us that these simple and direct portraits go beyond politics, beyond the flood of media coverage, to recognition that they are people fleeing for their lives and the lives of their family.
To an insensitive mind, the casual glance, these are only images, snapshot like, pictures of friends and others. To the informed and sensitive mind the horror, the horror of it all is understood. Escaping barrel bombs, destroyed homes, surrounded by death and suffering, these people are confronting the possibility of death in their escape. They remind us of the pain and suffering caused by conflict and the efforts of someone trying to kill them.
Andrea Motta’s images are simple images, rich in light and humanity. She is not at risk, she has a home to go to, food in her refrigerator and dry clothes hanging in her closet. We the reader of these portraits may turn the page, sip on our coffee, and gaze upon the faces of the survivors. We are not wet, cold, or confused as to what lies ahead of us. We can close our browser and be on our way. They cannot. The photographs displayed here speak of the moment, of self-presentation; they reference a recent past and an unknown future.
This is the second exhibition of VASA Witness that focuses on the responses of photographers to the refugee situation.
© Roberto Muffoletto, Co-curator