Subalterns in Photographic Images: Semiotic Analysis of Photo Collections, “Qar Squire” and “Cast Out of Heaven”

Subalterns have a small share in the images and what generally pictured of them is associated with political orientations. Documentary photography that often has an institutional approach, carries social signs in producing images of subalterns which play an important role in the construction of these groups. The aim of this essay is the social semiotics of the image in the study of Iran’s documentary photos of the 2010s, which as visual texts have a significant contribution in inducing social concepts. For this purpose, two photo collection as study cases of this decade – “Qar Square” and “Cast out of Heaven” have been studied based image semiotics.

The study cases were analyzed at three levels of social semiotics, which includes the representational level, interactive level and interpretive level. At these levels, visual texts – photo collections – were studied in terms of the elements in the images, the action of each audience and participant, the composition, viewing angels, distance and so on, also the interpretation of these elements and their effectiveness.

In the collection of “Qar Squire” at the level of social semiotics, it can be seen that the images follow a conceptual model in order to induce specific concepts. No action is formed neither by the participants nor audiences of the image, which ultimately leads to creation of social distance. The close-up view and the use of wide angle lens in depicting the dangerous face of the addict are used to express the abhorrence of audiences in the facing of the participants. The squire and closed frame confined the person. Creating visual appeal is formed in the high contrast black and white photos of this collection. The background space has the least amount of information, which leaves the person in an isolation that finally caused to reject the subaltern into the invisibility at nowhere. Almost the same approach occurred in the “cast out of heaven” photo collection. this time the large distance between the camera and the subject, made the feeling of social distance in audience and actually emphasizes the distances between us and the “other”. Conceptual model prevails in these images and the participants have no action. Most reason is that subalterns are removed from most of the frames. Instead of humans, the focus is on the visual appeal of landscape. On the other hand, the audience have a sense of social distance in countering with the longshot images of subalterns. Due to the photographer desire to be present in the global art market, these photos also show a tendency towards orientalism that made the subaltern as an exotic object. In general, this photo collection represented subaltern as ineffective and unproductive.

The results showed that the photographic images of the subaltern in the 2010s carry prominent social signs. In the field of neoliberal commodification of this decade, the figure of subaltern is constructed as an inefficient, unproductive and harmful object for society. The image of subaltern is foregrounded in grotesque, mutilated and exotic bodies which reduced to commoditized object in the global Art markets.