Tiffany Fairey: On visualising peace
In this episode, we talk with Tiffany Fairey about visualising peace. Tiffany warns of the dangers of binaries and hierarchies in terms of the different forms of photography as it negates the importance of different perspectives. She highlights the complexity of the politics of visibility and the ethical considerations required when marginalised groups become visible through photography. Tiffany also explains peace photography and how it can be used to present a desired future in contexts where conflict is still present.
What you’ll find inside:
“I felt really uncomfortable I guess about this idea of who’s taking the pictures and who’s telling the story. That idea that taking photos of someone is almost like putting words into their mouth.” (7.37)
“Often in these projects a lot of the kind of benefits and the outcomes aren’t really anything to do with the image… really about facilitating something beyond the photography but also facilitating through and via photography.” (12.28)
“It’s not like peace photography is against war photography and we must have one or the other. I think there’s a danger sometimes in photography that we have to think in terms of binaries or in terms of hierarchies.” (16.06)
“The politics of visibility basically can not be straight forward when you’re working with groups that are traditionally silenced suddenly becoming visible and having their stories heard. It’s complicated as well because a lot of the times they’re not listened to, so there’s dangers of raising expectations that can’t be met through these projects. We’ve had complications around finances as well.” (22.25)
“Within peace photography that is one of the key considerations are these images to be shared or not? There shouldn’t be an assumption that these projects are always about sharing images.” (32.31)
“I think the idea of peace photography is asking us to really reassess what we think of as visually significant.” (40.17)
“A photography of peace can make visible all these elements of peace that we might not always consider.” (41.03)
What does photography ethics mean to Tiffany?
“Essentially for me ethics means accountability and transparency in how you deal with others and communicate your work. There’s always the danger that the language of ethics end up obscuring what is actually happening, we can make it more complicated than it is. I worry a lot about people talking the talk about ethical photography but we don’t always walk the walk and it’s not simple to do that. I would say it’s this idea of ethics being grounded in transparent and accountable relationships with the people that we work with.” (41.52)
Links:
Dr Tiffany Fairey is a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of War Studies at King's College London. Her research focuses on arts-based peacebuilding, specifically on visual peace and visual peacebuilding methods and practice, and examines how images and image-making can shape inclusive peace and dialogue.
A leading expert in participatory visual methods and photovoice, she brings over 20 years of global experience working with partners at the intersection of photography, community and social change. As the founder and former director of the award-winning UK charity PhotoVoice, Tiffany played a pioneering role in shaping ethical, participatory image-making practices. Her work combines academic rigour with a deep commitment to collaboration and public impact.
She is an Associate with Everyday Peace Indicators and on the board of the Post Conflict Research Centre. Her contributions have been recognised with various awards including the Royal Photographic Society's Hood Medal for outstanding public service through photography and a Leverhulme Fellowship. She is widely published in academic journals and her books included Peace Photography: A Guide. and the forthcoming monograph, Imaging Peace (2025).
You can see her work at https://tiffanyfairey.co.uk
Creativity is not confined to campus. Falmouth University has been a leading creative institution for over 120 years, and a pioneer in online study since 2016. In that time, they have honed their expertise in delivering high-quality online degrees that nurture collaboration and innovation. Through their Virtual Learning Environment built by an award-winning digital learning team, supported by expert teaching and unrivalled industry connections, you can achieve your personal and professional ambitions in a way that works for you. Join a pioneering community and elevate your photographic practice with Falmouth's online photography courses. Learn more.