THE STRINGER. World Press Photo to suspend authorship attribution for ‘The Terror of War’ photograph. TRUTH. AUTHORSHIP. INTEGRITY. REDEMPTION.     
A couple laugh together on the West side of the Berlin Wall as the first people began crossing into the other half of the city. © Paul Lowe / VII.
A man in West Berlin begins knocking down the Berlin Wall.
Civilian revolutionaries in the city's central square, engaged in street battles with the Securitate. A short distance away, a large crowd watches events unfold. The Romanian popular revolt and coup of 22nd-25th December 1989 represented a decisive moment in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. An uprising which had begun a week earlier in the town of Timisoara spread to the capital city, Bucharest, with demonstrations leading to violent clashes in the streets. Nicolae Ceaucescu, President since 1974, lost the support of the army, who sided with ordinary civilians in street battles against the feared Securitate secret police force. As Ceaucescu and his wife Elena attempted to flee the country, they were captured, tried and executed. Their dead bodies were exhibited on television on Christmas Day. In just a few dramatic days, the country had rejected the communist system which had ruled since the Second World War. The slow and difficult transition to capitalism began.
Jubilant civilians celebrate in the city's central square, waving national flags with the Communist coat of arms cut out of the centre. The Romanian popular revolt and coup of 22nd-25th December 1989 represented a decisive moment in the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe. An uprising which had begun a week earlier in the town of Timisoara spread to the capital city, Bucharest, with demonstrations leading to violent clashes in the streets. Nicolae Ceaucescu, President since 1974, lost the support of the army, who sided with ordinary civilians in street battles against the feared Securitate secret police force. As Ceaucescu and his wife Elena attempted to flee the country, they were captured, tried and executed. Their dead bodies were exhibited on television on Christmas Day. In just a few dramatic days, the country had rejected the communist system which had ruled since the Second World War. The slow and difficult transition to capitalism began.
©Paul Lowe / VII
©Paul Lowe / VII
A child lies dying as others queue for food at Hawa hospital. 3-4,000 people are fed here with 6 or 7 dying of dysentery every day. In 1991 President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans, but they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare. In December 1992 US Marines landed near Mogadishu ahead of a UN peacekeeping force sent to restore order and safeguard relief supplies. The US forces withdrew in 1993 following the debacle of the infamous ‘Black Hawk Down’ episode.
Famine. Children looking through the gates of a feeding centre. In 1991 President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans, but they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare. In December 1992 US Marines landed near Mogadishu ahead of a UN peacekeeping force sent to restore order and safeguard relief supplies. The US forces withdrew in 1993 following the debacle of the infamous ‘Black Hawk Down’ battle.
Western photojournalists take pictures of a starving child during the 1992 famine caused by the civil war in Somalia. In 1991 President Barre was overthrown by opposing clans, but they failed to agree on a replacement and plunged the country into lawlessness and clan warfare. In December 1992 US Marines landed near Mogadishu ahead of a UN peacekeeping force sent to restore order and safeguard relief supplies. The US forces withdrew in 1993 following the debacle of the infamous ‘Black Hawk Down’ episode.
©Paul Lowe / VII
©Paul Lowe / VII
©Paul Lowe / VII
©Paul Lowe / VII
A Russian woman curses President Yeltsin after a Russian bombing attack which killed her mother. She is holding the keys to her destroyed house. The irony of Grozny is that many of the civilians left in the city were ethnic Russians with no family in the mountains and villages around the city to escape to, unlike most of the Chechens who were able to flee the city. In December 1994 Russian troops entered Chechnya in an attempt to quash the countryÕs independence movement. Early promises of a quick victory were soon silenced as the Chechens put up fierce resistance to the Russian assault and the death toll mounted. Up to 100,000 people Ð many of them civilians Ð are estimated to have been killed in the 20 month war that followed.
©Paul Lowe / VII
A Chechen soldier laughs after repelling a Russian attack on the outskirts of Grozny. In December 1994 Russian troops entered Chechnya in an attempt to quash the countryÕs independence movement. Early promises of a quick victory were soon silenced as the Chechens put up fierce resistance to the Russian assault and the death toll mounted. Up to 100,000 people Ð many of them civilians Ð are estimated to have been killed in the 20 month war that followed.
People run across an intersection to avoid sniper fire during the siege on Sarajevo by Serb troops. Around 250,000 people lost their lives in the conflict between Bosnian Muslims, Croats and Serbs that raged from 1992 to 1995 and resulted in the break-up of the former Yugoslavia.
©Paul Lowe / VII
The dead body of a woman in the city morgue during the siege on Sarajevo by Serb troops. Over 10,000 people were killed and more than 60,000 were injured in the 4-year long siege.
A young girl plays with a ball in the street alongside the River Miljacka in a ceasefire during the siege on Sarajevo by Serb troops. Over 10,000 people were killed and more than 60,000 were injured through the 4-year long siege. ©Paul Lowe/VII
©Paul Lowe / VII
Members of the Commission for Missing Persons recover the remains of a man who was killed while trying to escape from Srebrenica in July 1995. Up to seven thousand men and boys were massacred by the Serb forces after the failure of the UN troops to provide adequate protection. War crimes.
Members of the Commission for Missing Persons recover the remains of the Baltic family who were killed in an ambush on this hillside while trying to escape from srebrenica in July 1995. Their remains have lain in the open for the last five years. Up to seven thousand men and boys were massacred by the Serb forces after the failure of the UN troops to provide adequate protection. War crimes.
A line of imams pray as the bodies of forty Muslims are prepared for reburial after being exhumed. The village of Visoko was ethnically cleansed in 1992, and most of the menfolk were shot on their doorsteps by Serbs from the next village. 18 people were killed here.
The surviving women of the Baltic family, Tifa and her mother in law, bury the remains of their menfolk, Alija (62), Magbula (30), Tika (29) and Rejzo (28), who were all killed whilst trying to escape from Srebrenica in 1995. Up to seven thousand men and boys were massacred by the Serb forces after the failure of the UN troops to provide adequate protection. War crimes.
Location
London, England
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Dr. Paul Lowe

Emeritus

Dr. Paul Lowe was Professor of Conflict, Peace and the Image and the Course Leader of the Masters programme in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London, UK. He was also a regular course leader for The VII Foundation’s educational programs.

Paul was an award-winning contributing photographer to The VII Foundation who has been published in Time, Newsweek, Life, The Sunday Times Magazine, The Observer, and The Independent, amongst others. He has covered breaking news the world over, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, Nelson Mandela’s release, famine in Africa, the conflict in the former Yugoslavia, and the destruction of Grozny. His book, Bosnians, documenting ten years of the war and post-war situation in Bosnia, was published in 2005 by Saqi Books.

In addition to the practice of photography, Paul’s research interests focused on the photojournalism of conflict, and he was the author of the following books:

  • Behind the Camera: Creative Techniques of 100 Great Photographers (Prestel, 2016)
  • Photography Masterclass: Creative Techniques of 100 Great Photographers (Thames & Hudson, 2016)
  • 1001 Photographs You Must See In Your Lifetime (Rizzoli International Publications, 2017)
  • A Chronology of Photography: A Cultural Timeline from Camera Obscura to Instagram (Thames and Hudson, 2018)
  • Understanding Photojournalism, with Jennifer Good (Bloomsbury, 2020)
  • Photography Rules: Essential Dos and Don’ts from Great Photographers (Quarto Publishing, 2020)
  • Reporting the Siege of Sarajevo, with Kenneth Morrison (Bloomsbury Academic, 2021)
  • Photography, Bearing Witness and the Yugoslav Wars, 1988–2021: Testimonies of Light (Routledge, 2022)

Programs and Events

Apr
18
2023
Photography, Bearing Witness and the Yugoslav Wars, with Paul Lowe
May
16
2023
Visualizing the Climate Crisis: Virtual Water
Jul
6
2023
Visualizing the Climate Crisis: The Fashion System
Jan
25
2024
Visualizing the Climate Crisis: Deforestation
May
30
2024
Visualizing the Climate Crisis: Climate Migration

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