Acknowledging my own positionality as a woman from an ex-colony, I've picked out two recurring imageries which I consider significant and which exemplify how we 'read' images.Įach FEx issue selected contains several images of a woman and child, the latter in most cases at her breast, although sometimes the child is attached to the woman's back (an example from FEx13 is given in image 1). To this end, this piece of research has analysed a selection of imagery - a sample of one Field Exchange issue from each year, beginning with the inaugural issue in 1997, was selected in order to get a cross-section of images. We are concerned here with the extent to which FEx's use of pictorial support reinforces or challenges a neo-colonial reading. We may read against the grain of the dominant or the intended readings of the editor - negotiating our own meanings, or we may be so positioned within the conceptual map that we do not challenge the dominant readings. Whilst we may share the conceptual map of colonial discourse, our reading will inevitably be shaped by our positionality within that historical map. gender, geographical location, political stance and various other personal factors. This map of references will inevitably vary depending on the reader's 'positionality', e.g. To a great extent, the interpretation of a particular image is very complex and will vary from individual to individual, in that the reader will read a particular image by drawing references from her/his 'conceptual map'. In the case of FEx, meaning is achieved via a relationship between the subjects photographed, the photographer, the editor, and the receiver of the message. 'Reality' is not easily definable, no picture has an objective meaning - this is achieved through negotiation between a reader and the producer/editor of the image. However, there remain major difficulties in portraying the 'reality' of victims in any situation, let alone an emergency one where the impact and urgency of the message can be crucial to life saving action.
NEO COLONIALISM CODE
There was a code set up by the NGO-Liaison Committee regarding representation of the developing world as far back as 1985.
![neo colonialism neo colonialism](https://cdn.modernghana.com/images/content/chx3bnm08u_3nkrumah.jpg)
The criticism levelled at FEx - that "the majority of pictures imply a situation with westerners as the 'master' while portraying 'indigenous' as the 'starved', 'powerless' or 'helpless'" is one that the development world has been struggling with for over two decades. In the latter, images are often used as an instantaneous and powerful means of evoking emotions in the viewer/reader instead of using reams of text, which may be more time-consuming to compile and have less of an impact. We are bombarded by images from the moment we wake up in advertising, film, news coverage, etc.
![neo colonialism neo colonialism](https://miro.medium.com/max/3200/1*JYpCpDfv4sDvIdWl_KXUXw.jpeg)
In the fast moving world of global media, visual representations play an increasingly significant role. Part of the rationale for reviewing past FEx photos was to consider the potential impact of images used by the publication on readers, as well as on those represented. Field Exchange (FEx) is unique in the humanitarian sector in that it uses a considerable amount of pictorial illustrations to support articles.