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Photographer Lalage Snow, who is currently based in Kabul, Afghanistan, embarked on an 8-month-long project titled We Are The Not Dead featuring portraits of British soldiers before, during, and after their deployment in Afghanistan. Similar to Claire Felicie's series of monochromatic triptychs, Snow captures the innocent expressions of these men transformed into gaunt, sullen faces in less than a year.
The three-panel juxtaposition allows the viewer to observe the physical changes a stationed soldier in a war zone goes through. Time is sped up for these men under the beating sun, amidst combat. Regardless of age, the boys that went in came back as men with experiences beyond their years. As weathered and worn as their skin or sunken in faces may appear, it's their dilated eyes that are the most telling.
Additionally, Snow's series accompanies each triptych with quotes from each of the servicemen that gives a great deal of insight into their mental and emotional state at each given time. Sergeant Alexander McBroom's first portrait, before deployment, features him bravely saying, "I am not worried about going out - it is my job after all." Three months later, he is quoted as saying, "It has been an eye opener." And, finally, another four months after, he says, "It is always that fear, that apprehension, what is going to happen if I get blown up?" Having gone through life-altering trials and warfare, it is no surprise that fear is no longer a foreign feeling to these courageous men.
Snow's intention with the series is to not only honor their bravery by featuring them, but to also draw attention to every soldiers' psychological transformation. She says, "It was a very personal project and stemmed from having embedded with the military on and off for 4 years in Iraq and Afghanistan and bearing witness to how many young men return as shadows of their former selves and, in many cases, with deep, psychological scars. As the body count of British servicemen killed or wounded rose and the political ramifications of the British army’s presence in Afghanistan became increasingly convoluted, more and more soldiers felt like they didn’t have a voice, or at least, weren’t being listened to. We Are The Not Dead is an attempt at giving the brave young men and women the chance to explain how it really is."
Update: See more triptychs and read our exclusive, one-on-one interview with Lalage Snow, here.
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Tags: Lalage Snow, We Are The Not Dead, photo
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Comment by John Russo on May 7, 2013 at 5:16pm These pix show a definite transformation of the visage. The technical details like lighting could have been handled better but the pix are very good just the same. The author/photographer makes the point.
Combat transforms the direct participants like no other activity. WAR is hell. What's it good for? Nothing.
Thank you for this insightful contribution.
Comment by Gianni Gin on April 3, 2013 at 5:24am Lidé co prošli frontou,mají pronikavý pohled."Duchapřítomnost", jim kouká z očí.Je to nezbítné,šlo jim přeci o život.
Comment by Dani California on January 15, 2013 at 6:16am The inconsistent lighting is a little distracting; a trick in itself. You can't argue the men's faces have changed due to war experience, but the lighting, I believe, plays a huge part in convincing the viewer of a stronger narrative.
Comment by Tawny Clochard on December 18, 2012 at 5:41pm Sorry to correct you, ladies, but the correct sequence is: 1. Kill? 2. Kill! 3. Kill.... ?
Comment by Laura Nevitt on November 26, 2012 at 4:31pm yes- the same face in each row - despair, focus and back to despair
Comment by elmbow on November 20, 2012 at 12:21pm The old adage Luz about seeing what we want to see rings true here doesn't it?
You see hope, anguish and conformity. How simple.
Interpreting the before pics is tough, but I can tell you this much, it's the chaps in the middle pics that I would want watching my six in a pucker scenario, and for the most part, they seem to have carried that look into their after images. IOW, now they are MEN!
Comment by Luz E Rivera on November 14, 2012 at 3:17pm Three pictures of the same face, each row, FACES OF; HOPE, ANGUISH, COMFORMITY
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