Photography and environmental communication

by Alessio Sciurpa

Speaking of photography and environmental communications today in digital-photography era, as a means of representation of nature, is undoubtedly complex. Therefore we remain outside of the semiotic dispute if the photo is language, sign or means, to focus on meaning systems which make of the photography, like any other text in the communicative
meaning, an object of sense. Inspiring by the "Camera Lucida", in which Barthes says: The photograph itself is in no way animated (I do not believe in "lifelike" photographs), but it animates me: this is what creates every adventure.

A good example is the work related to climate change made by Panos Pictures on the island of Tuvalu. We spoke with Anna Stevens, Digital Assistant at the London agency: what is today, for your personal experience, the relationship between pictures and environmental communication?
Pictures can be massively effective in engaging people with issues around the environment, but sometimes they are too abstractly used. People seem to be strangely absent in most communication on the subject. A lot of the imagery on climate change for example has focused on melting glaciers, deforestation in the Amazon, belching chimneys, desert encroachment, often photographed from the air, and hasn’t changed since the 1970’s. Stunning and impressive though they may be, these images, are guilty of de-humanising climate change and rarely present us with anything that might inspire hope and action. I think this though is changing, and hope our work is part of this.

Half of your profits are given to the Panos Insititute to further its work on issues around media and communications, globalisation, HIV/AIDS, environment and conflict, why this choice?

Panos Pictures evolved out of the Panos Institute. After 11 years as part of the institute, it was decided that we could respond more quickly and effectively to the commercial challenges we faced as a company, rather than a charity and so established ourselves as such but the institute retained a major share in the company.