Chatting the Pictures: The All-Presence of Graphic War Images from Ukraine

This photograph was taken by Carol Guzy for ZUMA Press. It documents the massacre of Ukrainians in the town of Bucha on April 6, 2022, as Investigators and volunteers carry out the grim work of burying the dead and assessing for war crimes. Over 320 bodies were recovered in the suburbs of Kyiv after towns such as Bucha and Irpin were liberated from invading Russian troops. The photo most prominently appeared in a New York Times Opinion article entitled “Photographing Hell” by the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer, David Hume Kennerly.

In the video, we discuss the liminal quality of the photo—the sense of the man existing in a state between life and death—and how it makes the photo distinct from so many other atrocity images. We also detail key factors that have made so many shocking and horrific photographs from the war in Ukraine so visible in mainstream news.

You can find all the Chatting the Pictures replays here.