Volume FOUR, ISSUE 15 Join ZUMA Press   About ZUMA Press   Search ZUMA Press  e-Newsletter Archive     
 

FIRST in BEARING WITNESS BOOK SERIES: TESTIFY by Colin Finlay


June 5, 2006 - Flipping through the textured pages of ZUMA Press' premier book in the Bearing Witness Book Series: Testify, by Colin Finlay is an experience that will undeniably make you feel a sadness and desire to reach out to the conflicts of the world more deeply than you have before. The powerful images stand on their own as statements that there is ever so much restoration that needs to be done throughout the world. Moreover, Finlay's excerpts give the images a voice that put them even more poignantly into perspective and you could not feel more involved and struck by the gravity of unforgivable hunger staring you in the eyes, the shameless corruption of innocent children in prison and indentured, and unspeakable death and destruction. The images, together with the words, construct a powerful pairing that covers the visual and emotional depths of the stories as if we were witnesses to them ourselves.

In Testify, we're exposed to a world that may not be as highly developed as the so-called "civilization" we exist in today, but it is inarguably as complex or even more, and Finlay is the ideal liason between these two worlds. As our world gets seemingly smaller with globalization, it is becoming our responsibility to open our eyes and be accountable for the resulting damage being done at present, in order to be responsible for our future. Finlay is our guide as he takes us on a world tour through Northern Ireland, Cuba, Haiti, Eastern Europe, Africa, South America and the Middle East.

At first, facing human suffering made Finlay draw away, disgusted by the scenes he was bearing witness to, but eventually, these scenes had the opposite effect on him. Growing stronger with the help of time, experience, and the inspiration of his veteran colleagues, the site of suffering lured him closer as he realized his need to communicate its brutality to the rest of the world. The result is 109 pages of sheer un-ignorable truth hoping to raise awareness from a local to global level.

Finlay is part of a special breed that can thrive in the heat of vigorous documentary photography. He has earned the status of citizen of the world during his 15-year career, as he has endured being assaulted, jailed, interrogated, shot at, and threatened, and has survived the extremes of weather, long flights, dirty accommodations, bad food and water, illness, and loneliness, all as an expense for fulfilling his passion.

Colin Finlay is one of the foremost documentary photojournalists in the world and a four-time Picture of The Year Award winner. In 2000, his news team won an Emmy award for the FOX documentary "Black & Brown: When Colors Collide," an exploration of interracial tensions between teenagers in Los Angeles. In 1997 he took a first-place Issue Reporting Photography Award for his essay "Child Labor," which was also nominated for the ICP's prestigious Infinity Award. His TIME Online multimedia essay, "Rickshaw Pullers," won first place in 1998 for Best Online Photography and also took the South East Asia Journalism Award.




Captions from top down:
All images from Colin Finlay, TESTIFY
© Colin Finlay

Feb 03, 1998; Khartoum, Sudan; The devastating effects of starvation/malnutrition are seen in Sudan, the largest country in Africa. The ongoing civil war has displaced more than 4 million Sudanese, who are now unable to grow food or earn money to feed themselves. What humanitarian organizations call a "lost generation" of people lack educational opportunities, access to basic health care services, and prospects for employment.

Feb 01, 1994; Kigali, Rwanda; A Rwandan man attempts to walk with artificial limbs on the cover of Finlay's TESTIFY.

Jun 30, 1989; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Two Irish boys cover their face with an American flag in Belfast.

Feb 01, 1994; Kigali, Rwanda; A terrified Rwandan child looks into the photographer's car as he drives away. Rwanda is best known to the outside world for the 1994 Rwandan genocide that resulted in the deaths of close to one million people.


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