This Land of Ours That Is Not Ours - Marco Kesseler
Social documentarian, Marco Kesseler (b.1989), is a young buck making great waves in the photographic world. Born in 1989, he has already gained notoriety, partly thanks to his success with the Magnum Ideas Tap Award (winner); The Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize; New York Photo Festival; Magnets Flash Forward Award (highly commended); The Peter Kirk Memorial Fund; Renaissance Photo Prize (shortlist); Photo Ireland Festival and the MP Award, to name a few.
I'm giving him no favouritism due to his age, simply, his images supply the viewer with incredible insight, whilst expressing events in rich symbolism - Though I would like to stress, being the same age, kudos for the achievements and commitments to-date; Marco's projects could not be achieved by simply - and quickly - composing current affairs inventively with great aesthetic appeal, there's much more than that; Kesseler's work requires him to know the people he photographs, to understand the complex ontology of a given situation, and ultimately embed himself in the location.
An Uncertain Winter: Valery Shankin - Marco Kesseler
An Uncertain Winter, which won him the Magnum IdeasTap Photographic Award, was my first encounter with Marco Kesseler. The photoessay chronicles citizens of Belarus, "the last dictatorship in Europe". Directly and indirectly he shares with the audience the subversion of free speech across the nation. Visually it's a beautiful series, with a deep ominous aura throughout. One solemn shot shows Valery Shankin, a veteran and human rights activist, whose own opposition party was dismantled in the rise of an autocratic power, holding his military uniform in a subdued stance against dwindling light. It's implication on the older generation of democratic campaigners being fairly obvious, however, juxtaposed next to it is a photograph depicting a child of a displaced family ambitiously climbing the furniture, atop a piano whilst wielding a book. Again the implication is fairly clear, there is hope in the next generation.
Gjakmarrja: Albania's Revenged Blood - Marco Kesseler
The youngest child learns to walk, whilst watching a calf being slaughtered.
The precursor to this project, Gjakmarrja: Albania's Revenged Blood, is by no means a lesser series, or even an easier route into documentary for Marco. Dealing with blood feuds, an apparently commonplace cultural law (not legal) equivalent to 'an eye for an eye'. The practise forces many people and often children, into self-imprisonment for fear of murder, thanks to a family members past actions and an archaic belief held by some. For me, one of the most powerful images of the series is a heavily allegorical shot of a skeletal tree's shadow stretching across and around a small child, whilst out of shot a calf is slaughtered. To me, the tree's cadaverous state is synonymous with horror, whilst in a double-entendre it hints at family history.
This Land of Ours That is Not Ours - Marco Kesseler
Kesseler borrows the acute title of his latest series, This Land of Ours That is Not Ours, from Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. Poignantly, Marco documents the tension in the air in-between the Euromaiden protests of Kiev. Never showing much action, but always alluding to something darker; a situation about to erupt, parallel to the eye of a storm.
Please view his website, attend exhibitions and view the images in a context he intended.
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