Foam Magazine, for Which We Have Re- Tive in the Field — from Marcelo Brodsky to Linquished the Established Format
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IN LIM BO 2 CONTENTS FOREWORD 3 FEATURES IN LIMBO 3 FOREWORD 33 ANTOINETTE 169 FABIO BARILE by Marcel Feil DE JONG & Text by Taco Hidde Bakker ROBERT KNOTH 5 20/20 VISION Text by Keiko Okamura 185 PHELIM HOEY IN LIMBO Text by Hinde Haest by Deborah Willis 49 DANIËLLE VAN ARK Text by Paola Paleari 197 SEBA KURTIS 10 ON MY MIND Text by Mariama Attah by Marcelo Brodsky 57 THEMBINKOSI HLATSHWAYO 209 STANLEY 12 ASPHODEL Text by Lekgetho Makola WOLUKAU- MEADOWS WANAMBWA by Elisa Medde 73 VASANTHA Text by David Campany YOGANANTHAN 19 WAYS OF SEEING Text by Taco Hidde Bakker ALGORITHMICALLY 225 IN by Lewis Bush CONVERSATION 89 IN Sunil Shah with The term ‘crisis’ is derived from the Greek the virus is and what it can do. And what and sustainable manner might be the 29 HOPE IN CONVERSATION Stanley Wolukau-Wanambwa word krisis and its verb krinomai, to de- the virus can do reminds us inescapably of one benefit to be gained from this crisis. cide, select, judge. Directly related terms our human vulnerability and transience. In doing so it is good to zoom out EMPTY SPACES Mark Sealy include ‘critic’ (one who judges) and ‘criti- We have tried to arm ourselves and consider that our current predicament by Mariama Attah with Elisa Medde 233 NATURE’S LIMBO cal state’ (a medical condition that could against it by bringing life to a standstill. is not the main crisis of our time but a by Kim Knoppers go either way). A crisis can end well or The guidance and the measures imposed symptom of a far larger crisis, of a story badly, but the point is that the outcome is create a lockdown of a kind never seen that began centuries ago. The demystify- 31 MOURNING LIFE 97 PHOTOGRAPHY fundamentally uncertain. The experience before. Every form of human movement is ing of nature and the emergence of mod- BY LIVING IT IN CRISIS of a crisis is the experience of a world restricted; cars are parked up, planes are ern individualism led to a fundamental by Jaime Lowe by Tanvi Mishra 241 LAWRENCE LEK that is, for the time being, in jeopardy. grounded, the streets are empty, shops split between humans and the natural That is the world we are living in shut. Most people obey the far-reaching world. Nature was no longer God’s holy Text by Mirjam Kooiman now. It’s a time of not one but several new rules, stay home, and wait in a state creation, which we needed to deal with 106 IN crises that in some way or another are all of suspense, somewhere between deliver- in a suitable way. Instead it could be dis- CONVERSATION 253 AÏDA MULUNEH connected. The coronavirus has impacted ance and doom. sected and analysed scientifically. Science upon the world on a scale never seen be- That is where we find ourselves has brought us many good things and in Alec Soth Text by Mark Sealy fore. To an unprecedented, global extent, now, in limbo, a state of deferral in which a sense it has only served to increase the with Marcel Feil practically all aspects of life have been we don’t know what will happen or when. magic of existence. But progress is rela- 265 TAIYO ONORATO dominated over the past few months by a We are in a vacuum, in an intermediate tive. In combination with modern capi- virus of which neither the specific cause phase between heaven and hell, between talism, science has also created a system & NICO KREBS nor the liberating remedy are known. Un- past and future, without any firm ground in which the natural world can be used 113 WIDLINE CADET Text by Joseph Dodds certainty prevails. And even though the under our feet. In that sense this is also a and abused for the purposes of perpetual virus raises its head at different times and mental and emotional crisis that prompts economic growth and unbridled personal Text by M. Charlene Stevens in different places, the human response, introspection and forces us to think about profit. It has led to discoveries, knowl- with its concerns and anxieties, is strik- the things that are truly important. Be- edge and insights, to ever-increasing 127 WENDY RED STAR 288 COLOPHON ingly universal. cause during a life in lockdown, matters prosperity, but also to centuries of West- Important here is the nature of the we regarded as of crucial importance turn ern hegemony, colonialism, exploitation Text by Claartje van Dijk crisis. Unlike a war, a terrorist attack or out to be less than essential, and we have and repression, and to intolerable socio- a natural disaster, the coronavirus is in- discovered a great desire for things to economic inequality. The end of that sys- 289 VIEW CLOUD visible and walks abroad like a ghost. At which we never paid much attention be- tem is now announcing itself loudly and 137 PARTS UNKNOWN FROM any moment, wherever you may be, it can fore. It’s time to change course and think definitively. Nature is increasingly making arise out of nowhere and infect you or about how we want to go from here, to its limits known, hitting back mercilessly EYE POSITION those you love. The percentage of people arrive at a vision, a strategy for getting and revealing not just our unparalleled ar- by Eugenie Shinkle directly affected by the virus is limited us out of the darkness and into the light rogance but our dependency, fragility and in an absolute sense, certainly in light of at the end of the tunnel. The fact that in mortality. Worldwide we see more and the bigger picture. Our direct experience limbo we are forced to identify our fun- more powerful protests against inequal- is mainly of fear and uncertainty, fed by damental needs and think about what we ity and injustice. In recent times demon- stories and news reports covering what require if we are to survive in a worthwhile strations against institutional racism have 4 FOREWORD ARTICLE 5 been held all over the world. That is no sharing and organising, photography is accident. What we are seeing is merely a powerful instrument for giving people the start of a fundamental political, eco- a voice and therefore power, especially nomic, ecological, moral and spiritual individuals and communities that are of- shift, in which the conviction is growing ten denied power in its traditional forms. that existing power structures will have Photography can unite people, but it can to change. Yet we still have no idea how also drive them apart. It can be a cata- that much needed transition will go from lyst for cravings and greed, for an ever- here. Within the bigger picture too, we are accelerating dynamism of interests driven in limbo. by commerce and power, for transience and superficiality. Like technology — with A crisis is a moment of discernment and which photography is inextricably linked decision. Thinking is well underway about — photography has two faces, one good a post-corona society that is less cursory, and one bad. Which of the two comes to hectic and materialistic, that has room dominate is determined by the way it is for slowing down, for a quest for mean- used, which is up to its users, and there- ing, and for entering into real and signifi- fore in some sense up to each one of us. cant relationships. What place do art and 20/20 culture have in that new society? What Ultimately it’s a matter of consciousness, is the role of photography in a world full of being aware of the voice we each have of questions and uncertainty, a world in in us, and of using that voice carefully and which there is a growing feeling that exist- responsibly in a time in which everything ing institutions are being called into ques- is in motion and seems pushed to the tion or undermined? brink. In this issue, therefore, we attempt More specifically, what role do we to bring together a diverse choir made up want photography to play? What do we of people from the world of photography VISION want photographic images to do for us? whose voices can help us address our We cannot even attempt to find an answer needs and wishes. unless we have an idea of what we want Compared to a regular issue of Foam and what we do not want, a sense of di- Magazine, ‘In Limbo’ has more textual rection, a vision of life after the crisis. It contributions, and they are of a slightly dif- is that which forms the basis of this issue ferent nature. A wide range of people ac- IN of Foam Magazine, for which we have re- tive in the field — from Marcelo Brodsky to linquished the established format. It felt Deborah Willis and from Tanvi Mishra to inappropriate to publish a regular issue in Jaime Lowe — have each produced unique the middle of this global crisis, as if noth- responses to the question of what photog- ing had happened, and a missed opportu- raphy can do in times of limbo. We thank nity too. Foam Magazine offers the perfect all of them for their valuable contributions. chance to pose such questions broadly and We also thank Stanley Wolukau-Wanamb- explore them in word and image. Not with wa, Sunil Shah, Mark Sealy and Alec Soth LIMBO the intention of arriving at unanimous and for their willingness to have extensive con- absolute answers, but to pose and discuss versations in these turbulent and challeng- these questions and thereby plant the seed ing times.