Images and Mass Atrocities

Ticket

Sunday 8 March – 14h00

Espace Pitoëff - Librairie

Rue de Carouge 52, 1205 Geneva

How should mass violence be shown, and at what cost? Starting from the Cambodian genocide, this discussion examines how images of victims circulate, their impact on viewers, and the ethical responsibility involved in producing and sharing them.

Graphic images or restrained representation? Drawing on work around the memory of the Cambodian genocide, two historians, an art historian and a photographer look at what images do : to audiences, to victims’ families, and to those who create and circulate them. The discussion addresses the ethical choices involved in photographing victims and deciding how, when, and whether such images should be shown. Do shocking images deepen understanding, or does distance and reflection offer a clearer view of violence? How can atrocities be made visible without stripping victims of dignity? A conversation about responsibility, mediation, and the limits of representation.

This event is part of the Agora section.

Photo credit: Sylvie Léget

Event proposed by Sylvie Léget

Discussion

Mayte Garcia
Art historian and author

Sylvie Leget
Photographer and researcher

Davide Rodogno
Professor of International History and Politics, Geneva Graduate Institute
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Daniel Palmieri
Historian, International Committee of the Red Cross

Moderators

Sarah Zürcher
Director, Biel/Bienne Festival of Photography

Language(s)
Discussion in French only