Photography exhibition in Edinburgh documents major resistance movements
Social work is inseparable from the structural effects of poverty and discrimination.
Resistance at Edinburgh’s Modern Two Gallery is recommended for anyone interested in how resistance movements have tried and often succeeded in shaping social change.
It will also give pause for thought about today’s political climate.
Resistance surveys momentous acts of protest from the last century: the miners’ strike of the 1980s, anti-fascist and anti-racist marches, the CND protests, the struggles for home rule and demonstrations against Clause 28 and the Iraq War.
It incorporates official photography as surveillance, and photography used to promote a cause, for example, Sylvia Pankhurst recovering from a hunger strike (1913).
Exhibits are mainly news photos and non-digital up to the Iraq War (2003). Nowadays we are used to a bombardment of anodyne photos, because digital photos are so easy to produce. So, it was a slight shock to see a collection of powerful photos together.
Christine Spengler’s Girl at an IRA funeral procession (1972), depicting a solitary child, is one such example. Another was a chilling photo of Oswald Mosely giving a fascist salute at a rally (1937), by an unknown photographer.
An inherent limitation of photography is that it’s good at portraying dramatic images, but less adept at everyday oppression or micro-aggressions. Photos often show us resistance when it becomes a full-blown act of protest such as The Jarrow Hunger Marches.
Nonetheless some photos depicted impoverished conditions, such as Family Squatting by Paul Trevor (1978) with a man (likely to be a Muslim elder) and a child.
Everyday injustice is also hinted at in Members of the National League of the Blind participating in the Blind March (1920). The leaders carry a banner saying ‘Justice not Charity’. It’s easy to forget that many people find charity paternalistic or demeaning.
The exhibition ends with photos of protests against The Vietnam War (1960s) and The Iraq War protests (2003). By juxtaposing wars protests from two different decades, the movement of time is implied.
The relevance of war protests to today’s world situation will not be lost on exhibition visitors.
Resistance is on at Modern Two, 73-75 Belford Rd, Edinburgh EH4 3DR until 4 January, 2026