26 May, 2023
Of my favourite documentary photographers, Elliott Verdier uses the unconventional large format camera to offer two interweaved narratives, one in black & white and the other in colour, reflecting ideas stemming from trauma, such as collective memory, generational transmission and resilience. Questioning his position as a witness and the subjectivity of his images, he completed his first long-term project A Shaded Path in Kyrgyzstan. He was subsequently aided by the French National Center for Visual Arts in 2019 for his second major project Reaching for Dawn in Liberia. Elliott discusses the idea of playing a role as a photographer, acknowledging unspoken trauma and taking time to understand the subject within his projects.