Thesis: Photography in the First Gulf War (1990-91)
Supervised by Prof. Julian Stallabrass
Funded by a CHASE studentship
Much of the writing about the First Persian Gulf War (1990-91) assumes that few photographs exist of this conflict because most photographers were denied access to the battlefield. My research, drawing on a variety of sources from under-exploited archives to new interviews, questions this orthodoxy to advance a fresh analysis of an important turning point in the history of photojournalism. Up to the declared cease-fire on 28 February 1991, photojournalists had to work with and against military-organised media control, but important photographs of the conflict and its direct aftermath were taken nonetheless, some in more independent circumstances than is generally remembered. Although press coverage of the war at the time was largely corroborating the governmental legitimisation of the war, and editors published only a limited selection of pictures, many photographers were working on the ground. Key developments took place for the profession, including the introduction of digital technologies, the increased competition from 24-hour live television, and the evolution of the media’s relationship with the military in time of war. My thesis is the first in-depth study focusing on the work and output of photojournalists during the First Gulf War. It proposes a more nuanced understanding of this conflict’s photographic coverage and of the profession’s evolution from the end of the Cold War to today.
Education
2017-22: Courtauld Institute of Art, London
PhD History of Art
2011-12: King’s College, London
MA Cultural and Creative Industries
2008-11: Paris III Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris
MA British, North-American and Postcolonial Studies
2008-11: Ecole du Louvre, Paris
BA History of Art, with specialisation in History of Photography
2005-08: Lycée Lakanal, Sceaux, France
Classes Préparatoires A/L Ulm (Humanities studies) with specialisation in languages (English, Italian, Ancient Greek)
Research Interests
- History of Photography
- Culture and Conflict
- Arts and the Middle-East
- Postcolonial studies
- Contemporary art
Past Projects
- Co-convenor of the panel “Challenging Orientalism: New questions of perception and reception” for the AAH 2021 annual conference.
- Co-organiser of the CHASE DTP training programme: “Researching Conflict in the Humanities: Challenges, Practices and Methods,” (2019-20) an interdisciplinary event series seeking to question the positionality of the researcher, and explore the most current methodological approaches in the study of conflict.
- Associate Editor (2019-20) and Subscriptions Editor (2020) of immediations, the Courtauld Institute’s postgraduate, peer-reviewed journal.
Professional Experience
- 2018-22: Teaching Assistant and Associate Lecturer at The Courtauld Institute of Art
- 2014-17: Exhibitions Manager, fundraising, publications and events at Parasol unit foundation for contemporary art
- 2012-13: Inventory Officer, Marketing & Communications Officer and Gallery Manager at Daniel Blau gallery
Publications
“Animal Bodies, Oil, and the Apocalyptic in the First Gulf War Aftermath” in Photography & Culture, special issue: Humanism Without Humans, June 2021. DOI: 10.1080/17514517.2021.1889121
“The Unseen Gulf War: Disremembered Images and Method” in Miranda, special issue: Camera Memoria: Photographic Memories from the Margins, no.25, Spring 2022. DOI: 10.4000/miranda.44615
“Challenging Orientalism: New Perspectives on Perception and Reception, an Introduction” in World Art, guest editor with Emily Christensen of the special issue: Challenging Orientalism, vol. 13, no.1, January 2023. DOI: 10.1080/21500894.2022.2151505
“A Wandering Light in the Universe: A Conversation with Adonis” with Ambra D’Antone, in immediations 4, no.4, 2019.
Conference Presentations and Lectures
“Palestinian Solidarity during the Cold War” at Courtauld Institute of Art, BA2 Constellations course: Cold War Cultures: Art in a Divided World 1945-1991, London, 18 November 2021
“Bodies, Emotions and Senses in Photographs of anti-Gulf War Protests in Jordan (1990-91)”at Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), international colloquium: Aesthetics, Emotions, War: New Approaches to Warfare, Aubervilliers, 16–17 December 2021
“The Unseen Gulf Wars: 2003 re-writings of the 1991 Persian Gulf War” at Courtauld Institute of Art, Research Forum annual postgraduate symposium: Third Year PhD Symposium, online, 8–9 October 2020
“Aftermath Photography of the First Gulf War: The Burning Oil Wells as Visions of Apocalypse” at Courtauld Institute of Art, Research Forum conference: Imagining the Apocalypse, London, 18–19 October 2019
“The Representation of Women in Photographs of the First Persian Gulf War” at British Society for Middle Eastern Studies (BRISMES) annual conference: Joining the Dots: Interdisciplinarity in Middle Eastern Studies, Leeds University, 24–26 June 2019
“Grain in the Desert: Remembering the Materiality of Gulf War Photography with Derek Hudson and the Sygma Agency (1991)” at Association for Art History (AAH) Summer Symposium: Photography and Printed Matter, St Andrews University, 3–4 June 2019
“The First Gulf War, Postmodernism, and the Work of Abbas” at Courtauld Institute of Art, postgraduate seminar: Conversations Across Time, London, June 2018