Malawi holds a special place in my heart, not just as a destination on the world map but as a source of inspiration and growth. The landlocked warm heart of Africa lies southeast of the continent, bordered by Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique, where my journey there began as a teenager. I found my true essence of storytelling and photography between its communities and landscapes.
Malawi, for me, has become a place of rest, somewhere I can ground myself but grow, too, with it being the first place I found my passion for storytelling. I've always wanted to share my experiences from Malawi, yet at times hesitated, wanting to establish my voice in other realms of journalism first – something I have been semi-successful with. With three visits under my belt, allowing Malawi into my narrative feels like the right time. No matter what has been going on in my life, I have always found solace in the communities there and how photography has incrementally shaped my perception of what I am shooting and why I am shooting the subjects.
As a storyteller, I'm driven by a desire to bridge demographics and ideologies. In a landscape often polarised and biased, I want to offer a nuanced perspective that can resonate with preconceived ideas of Africa. I've always felt misunderstood, even as a white male from a relatively middle-class background - my voice and the reasons behind my writing have never quite resonated with the audience I'm aiming to reach.
On my first trip to Malawi, I created a fundraiser to raise money for equipment for a new school that would be built in the central region of Malawi, Nkhotokota. The manifesto looked a little something like this; in fact, it looked exactly like this because I found it on the Justgiving page I created at the start of 2017:
"In July 2017, my peers from Northampton School for Boys and I are embarking on a once-in-a-lifetime trip that will not only change the lives of a community in Malawi but will also be a life-changing experience for us. The trip aims to help those in need by providing a new maternity ward that will benefit, inspire, and provide some hope to the lives of the locals currently living in poverty. This will also act as a facility for future generations. Overall, we have to raise £10,000, on top of the initial costs of the flights and accommodation, which we are funding ourselves. We have already been undertaking fund-raising activities and have other activities planned… Any donations would be greatly appreciated."
Keywords and phrases to take away here: once-in-a-lifetime trip, life-changing experience, help those in need, benefit, inspire, provide hope.
Now, you probably don't see an issue here yet. Of course, giving can be one of the most extraordinary acts of grace. But I want to express the problems of charity work in Africa and discuss something called 'The White Saviour Complex.' By definition, it is an ideology that a white person acts upon from a position of superiority to rescue a Black, Indigenous, or person of colour.
I want to acknowledge the fact that it is an immense privilege to have an opportunity to even be able to write this. At the time, I thought the would be a "once-in-a-lifetime trip" that would "help those in need", "benefit", "inspire", and "provide "hope" would be beneficial. Of course, to some extent, it did.
I want to explore two things here: doing charity work in impoverished areas, and the idea that the camera can reinforce this.
Churchill once said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." While this sentiment can be relevant, it's essential to recognise the layers beneath his altruistic facade. His words have left a legacy entangled with colonialism and paternalism that has challenged me to confront my shadows of privilege and power. Churchill is often seen as a figure of national heroism but can harbour views that align with the tenets of white saviorism.
Please bear with me…
During my first two years at university, I explored the complexities of charity work. My course leader had extensive experience with various NGOs (Non-governmental organisations), including the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Red Cross and Save the Children. During this time, I became aware of how these organisations often depicted Africa solely through the lens of poverty and famine.
My education exposed me to the impact of famine iconography, where images of famine overshadow the authentic tapestry of Africa. Unknowingly, the photographs I took in 2017 inadvertently reinforced these stereotypes. I realised that my imagery unintentionally reduced the black body to a caricature that perpetuated colonial notions of dysfunction in Africa while reinforcing the narrative of Western benevolence. The imagery I produced highlighted the hierarchy of imperial power that entrenches racist attitudes still to this day.
Throughout the 1980s, Western campaigns brought attention to the prominent famine in certain African countries. However, these efforts inadvertently perpetuated a misleading narrative, casting Africa as a monolithic and dark continent only suited to those brave enough to visit. The oversimplified portrayal failed to recognise Africa as a diverse nation and fueled the misconception that it is a single homogenous entity. The Live Aid phenomenon, led by Bob Geldof, enhanced this trend. While it successfully generated substantial funds within a short timeframe, its lasting impact was a distorted perception of Africa that remains prevalent in the UK.
As mentioned in my previous blog, I did not utilise the work of my lecturer in her book, Understanding Photojournalism. I reread some relevant chapters throughout the writing of this piece. I have taken away something that is a stark reminder: international awareness and political pressure that can be put on governments by adequate photographic coverage are all arguments in favour of photographs that do not shy away from representing famine uncompromisingly. In my opinion, there is an obligation that photographers and editors must figure out on their own time and one that must sit as comfortably as possible within the parameters of their professional practice and consciousness.
I feel a responsibility to improve public understanding of the realities and complexities of these inequalities, injustices, and poverty that I am discussing.
As mentioned, the opportunity to even be in a place where I can produce imagery that would elicit donations from my peers to help those featured in my imagery images is a privilege. How I approach this, however, is an ethical obligation and not a legal one.
It took me five years from 2017 to revisit the country again, and my second trip in the autumn of 2022 offered me a chance to engage with the indigenous communities on a deeper level, using my camera not as a tool of exploitation but as a means of empowerment. I also wanted to revisit because I recognised that my work was complicit in upholding ill-founded theories of racial and cultural superiority that were both a cause and effect of colonial domination.
The people I asked to feature in my images in Malawi may feel obliged to participate due to their relative lack of power and their relationship with me—especially if I walk around with £1000 worth of equipment. This sounds horrible even writing it, and I think communities are becoming aware of the issue, but ultimately, there is still very much a power dynamic of someone like myself with a camera coming into a community.
I want to discuss some of the imagery I shot in 2017 and reflect on some of its issues. In turn, I hope that whoever has bothered to read this far will understand what I am saying and, most importantly, why I am saying it.
Now, let me show you an image I shot five years later.
I have always thought of myself as on the outside, looking in, regardless of what I am shooting. The change I am trying to evoke is being on the outside and giving the people on the inside the opportunities granted by outside beneficiaries to depict their lives through their lens.
I hope to spark a dialogue about the ethics of storytelling and the responsibilities that come with bearing witness to the lives of others. My journey is far from over, but with each trip there, I want to honour the voices of the communities I encounter and amplify their stories with integrity and empathy.
Good read! Gives a new way to read your malawi in translation project with a bit more depth. The sentence about how peter wasnt told how to pose has had some fascinating research around similar phenomena, it's written about in that book I gave you ages ago that despite informing a lot of my work I cant remember the name of for the life of me ahaha