Sweet Nothings, Vanessa Winship, 2007

There is a lot of different elements that I could discuss in this image by Vanessa Winship, but what drew me to this image is the two girls’ expressions.

The girl on the left looks unsure, almost like a rabbit caught in the headlights, a transfixed stare at the camera. There is a sense of anxiety, she is eager to do the right thing but does not know what that is. The girl on the right, presumably her sister, is looking at something outside of the frame with an expression of almost impish mischief. It is as if she has laid a trap somewhere and is waiting for someone to fall into it.

But it is the stare of the first girl that is quite captivating. She is staring directly at the camera and because of the fixed point perspective, she is always staring at the viewer and this is transfixing but also uncomfortable. It is uncomfortable because she feels uncomfortable and consequently, this sense of unease is transmitted to the viewer. This almost creates an infinite regress where unease and doubt feed on themselves like hungry pariahs with insatiable appetites.

However, I cannot stop looking at the image, but not just because of the young girls gaze. There is a sense of “otherness” in this image, that I am looking at a scene which is alien to me. It is straight forward to assume this photograph was taken in a school, there is a blackboard, books and letters on the wall, items that set the scene and give a context for the image. But the otherness comes from this setting, that it could quite easily be from the 1900s, that the clothes and equipment are from a bygone era, where crushing poverty was a daily occurrence in the slums of Glasgow or Birmingham or London. Then, when we learn that this image was taken in 2007, it makes its context even more shocking. A scene that was reminiscent of pre-war poverty is taken in the 21st century, a mere 13 years ago.

However, we rest safely because this is happening “over there” and not “here”. The images were taken in Turkey, in the Eastern Anatolia region, somewhere so remote that it’s not even on Google maps. It gives us a glimpse into a world that is strange and foreign, something from a different culture, giving the viewer the opportunity to contrast it with their own set of standards and beliefs.

But what prevents us from sitting back and feeling safe and remote from the image is the young girl’s gaze. It is this connection, her unsure and anxious look, that cuts through the cultural divide and brings the image, with all its differences and contrasts, crashing into our world and empathising with two young children.