Dark tourism, ruin porn and the ethical and aesthetic dilemmas in aftermath photography

Photographers have often been fascinated with representing landscapes that mark the sites of pivotal historical events. Alongside a development of this genre of practice, more recently referred to as aftermath photography, we also see the evolution of theories of dark tourism and ruin porn. 50 years on from the division of Cyprus this paper explores questions of how my own photographic practice operates in the context of aftermath photography, and whether it avoids the potential pitfalls of dark tourism and ruin porn.

The paper initially sets aftermath photography in comparison to ‘of the moment’ conflict photography, where there is a tension between the aesthetics of the image and revulsion of the subject depicted. My own practice within Nicosia and around Famagusta is then explored in the context of aftermath works such as those of Meyerowitz and Meiselas in America, Norfolk and Seawright in Afghanistan, Matar in Libya and Dewe Matthews in Europe.

With walking routes emerging from the Nicosia Master Plan redevelopment programme and with the recent change in access to parts of Varosha, these sites as tourism destinations become fascinating, yet problematic, places of deeply personal and highly political tension. In the paper the walled city of Nicosia and the ruined site of Varosha are used as case studies, to explore the tensions between the context of place and its photographic representation.