“A (de)colonizing gaze?”

During the last weeks I have been completely consumed by the photographic project with ph15, how to teach non-formal environmental education in an engaging way, and how to visualize environmental problems. The response from the kids was beyond my expectations, and the first photo excursion into the Hidden City, or Ciudad Oculta as the neighbourhood is called, left me overwhelmed by all the impressions. During the hour long walk through the winding streets, we took hundreds of photos, of children playing, of a massive reddish hospital building abandoned before completion, of barking dogs eating from the garbage bags, and of rubbish from what were once houses. I further attempted to document the excursion and photographic discussions that were held by the participants. After the first excursion into Ciudad Oculta I went on a tour to the Tigre Delta, and the social and economic contrasts were striking. Back home I tried to digest all the impressions and furthermore all the photos, and after up loading a selection of the pictures that I had taken on facebook I started reflecting on my representation of the kids, the project and the neighbourhood. Only then did I consider whether my attitude and actions could be considered a voyeuristic tour into the “hidden”? All the reactions from Argentineans that I have talked to about my project and/or who have seen the selection of photos at facebook have also contributed to the need to reflect on the practices of the project. Issues that have been raised deal with whether it is at all meaningful to discuss the environmental conditions and problems with people who are poor, others have said that it is great that I participate in the visualization of the “reality” in the slum, while yet others have questioned my security when walking around in the neighbourhood. My initial aim was to contribute to the endeavour by the organization to strengthen the confidence and self esteem among the participants, by applying a participatory approach in the project. Anyone who has attempted to deal with this issue knows that it comes with a whole array of challenges. To start with, I was the one who contacted the organization and suggested that the project focus on the relationship between humans and environment, and the theme was thus not generated by the participants. Another matter is the auto-representation of the kids, of their neighbourhood, of all the rubbish and the poor material living conditions, and how this is connected to their ideas about what others think about them or expect of them. My initial idea of calling the project “Visualization of the relation between humans and environment” was to open up for the possibility to not only focus on bad or poor conditions, but also on good or desirable conditions, and possible solutions to environmental problems. However, the first photo excursion seemed to result in mainly negative images, and for some reason this made me ponder on the ethical aspect of the practice, and whether this could possibly contribute to any strengthening of the kids self esteem. Of course it is too early to draw any conclusions, and the project has only started, which means that there is time to open up discussions on these issues and develop the project taking them into deeper consideration. Personally I will look in the literature on postcolonialism where I hope I will find some ideas on how to decolonize my gaze and practice.