Steve McCurry at Chris Beetles Fine Photographs

Steve McCurry at Chris Beetles Fine Photographs

07 September, 2011
by: Jumanah

Jumanah Younis takes a look at Steve McCurry's latest photography exhibition

Remember that picture? It’s a young girl, maybe about 12 years old, who’s looking directly into the camera, so intently that it almost feels as if her stare is going straight through the lens and into you. They are green eyes, darker round the edges; with a hint of gold between the corners and very small, very black pupils. Her brown, slightly matted hair peeks out from underneath a red shawl; the scarf is tatty and ripped. The background is green, bringing out that piercing gaze.

The photograph is called ‘Afghan Girl’ and graced the cover of National Geographic in June 1985. It was taken by internationally acclaimed American photographer Steve McCurry, whose work is currently on show in an exhibition at Chris Beetles Fine Photographs. Though the image of the Afghan refugee, later identified as Sharbat Gula, propelled McCurry onto the international photography scene, it is just one of innumerable moments the photographer has captured on his travels.

McCurry's work spans over twenty countries; he has lived through the Indian monsoon season, a border crossing into Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war and burning oilfields in Kuwait. In short, there seems to be little this man has not seen. He's has covered several international conflicts, and his work renders clear the horror of war more adeptly than any other photographer I have seen. From the desolate, apocalyptic landscapes of Kuwait during the Gulf War to child soldiers standing to attention in Burma, McCurry refrains from using overly graphic or repulsive images to shock the viewer. Instead, he uses colour, facial expressions and setting to bring out the underlying tragedy and nauseating familiarity of war, in a way that is deeply unsettling. The exhibition includes only one picture from Kuwait during the war, but it is one of the most striking pieces on display. The photograph shows three camels silhouetted against a backdrop of billowing smoke and fire. Six oil wells were on fire simultaneously, Steve tells me at the exhibition opening.

His work is not all about tragedy, however. In fact, despite (or perhaps as a result of) witnessing several bloody conflicts, a great deal of McCurry’s work focuses on the beauty and variety of human life, and the universality of experience and emotions. He has been to India more than 70 times, and a large proportion of the exhibition is dedicated to the body of work which resulted from his time there. “It’s one of the most fascinating places in the world,” he says, identifying one picture from the India collection as his all-time favourite photograph. It depicts female road workers in Rajasthan huddled round in a circle to shelter from a dust storm in the desert. “For that brief few minutes it was like magic,” recounts Steve. “It’s so rare that a great moment just falls in your lap,” he adds.

Alongside the famous Afghan Girl portrait are several other portraits, including one reminiscent of Sharbat Gula. It portrays another young girl, this time from the Peshwar region of Pakistan, with a turquoise shawl and light blue eyes. Steve’s other portraits from Afghanistan are equally vibrant. When asked about difficulties in securing sitters, Steve laughs; “There’s no more vain person in the world than an Afghan man.”

The exhibition may be relatively small, but it contains a cherry-picked selection of some of Steve McCurry’s best work, including photographs from India, Pakistan, Burma, Japan, the US and Afghanistan. Heading home after the opening, I’m baffled thinking how that small, unassuming man in a grey shirt has seen so much of the world, and captured moments of magic so well.

The Steve McCurry exhibition continues until 24th of September 2011

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Jumanah