Trawling The Guardian online, the Curated Team’s attention was brought an upcoming exhibition at The Photographers’ Gallery in London that examines the use of photographs as factual evidence of crimes.
Burden of Proof: The Construction of Visual Evidence is presented in eleven case studies including the work of Alphonse Bertillon, who established a scientific protocol for the representation of crime scenes in the 19th century, some of the images projected during the Nuremberg Trials in 1945 and an analysis of a drone strike in Miranshah on 30 March 2012 based on a rare video testimony.
It looks fascinating. Not only because of its subject matter, but also because it highlights how differently photographic evidence has been used, interpreted and justified as ‘an essential tool in the service of justice’ over the past two and a bit centuries.