GOERGE BUID SPEAKS ABOUT HIS RECENT EXHIBITIO WITH PHOTOCARREFOUR
Goerge Buid is a photographer and a writer from the Philipinnes. In a recorded video interview George speaks about his recent exhibition with Photocarrefour “Year of the pandemic”. George who’s works revolves around every day people and life on the streets, speaks about himself, his works and his experience capturing the human conditions and they life we fail recognize every day during the pandemic.
George exhibited a 12*16 photo print image of a dry concrete wall in the background with a yellow tape band, horizontally crossing the center of the image. The yellow band which slightly bent backward at the top and the bottom Is written on it in black bold non-serif font “CAUTION”. George calls this image “Precaution”. “We need to take precaution and be aware that the COVID-19 exists. We need to remind ourselves to be careful when we go outside. Or, we’ll hit a big wall without knowing it can harm or kill us”. He adds. Read more in the interview below.
This image is exhibited at the Photocarrefour Gallery, Duplex 16, Mabushi Ultra Modern Complex, Jahi, Abuja
Can you describe yourself? Can you tell us about your philosophy and approach to photograph?
Good Day everyone, my name is George Buid from the Philippines, the philosophy of my work. I capture stories as it is or as they are. I focus more on the story but then the moment before the artistic or compositional side of the photography, because the stories are more important than the artistic side or aesthetic side of it. They are also an important part, I know but sometimes people loss focus on the photograph, they focus more on the art than the story, so I try focus there, then I try to capture stories that seem so tom much ordinary or left unnoticed, so stories that exist and are as important as anyone else’ and important in society. So, Photographs like the struggles of vendors during the pandemic even before the pandemic or seeing it in their own shoes. So I try to give that experience through the photographs. That is my philosophy.
What was your sense and mood in documenting the pandemic during the lockdown?
How can I explain this? People are struggling especially when the government are not doing their part to ease the situation and everyday people are losing their jobs, getting evicted from their homes, it’s difficult, so beside that, the mental health is another issue. Surviving in the city is so hard because you don’t have any more jobs. So it’s difficult for them so I try to be careful so I try to talk to them first before capturing it. If they don’t want to be photographed, then they don’t want to tell their story then I leave them. So the mood is beside the hardship, they have lost a lot of hope but they still continue to go on. That’s the mood.
“The photographer or the one taking the photo is not important I want people to see from the eyes of the person or the human in that photograph,”
You said the pandemic is double Jail time, can you explain that to us?
The pandemic. Beside the quarantine people are scared to go out because of the covid19 pandemic so now it’s like 60%-85% of them don’t want to go out, they are scared of getting infected, they are scared of dying, also they are scared that they don’t have any money to go to the hospital. That’s one and the other one is that it’s like the word quarantine, like from the word itself quaran, it’s supposed to be 40 days but it’s been too long to be inside, so, it’s like being in a jail. Since the government is not doing…, well they said they are doing something but looks like they are not because besides they don’t have any plans or approach with the covid19 situation. So, it’s taking to long for the people to get out. They only thing they do not is changing and adding restrictions but other than that, business will not want to open because they are afraid of the virus at the same time its been more than six months they didn’t earn. So most of the business are close, everyone is lockdown besides the virus. Also the government they are also afraid of the Covid. Since they are not doing anything besides, they pass a lot of anti-terror bill law so government are targeting critics, activist, even indigenous people. Like I talked to one time a petty cab driver, so he lost his job because the local government does not allow them anymore to operate. So that the same way the government is restricting operation. Everyone is restricted by the government in Covid. So it’s like a double jail time. This people are poor, they don’t have money so they can’t go any way and transportation. There is no transportation and even if there is transportation its very limited in limited area.
What do you hope people take away from seeing your works?
The photographer or the one taking the photo is not important I want people to see from the eyes of the person or the human in that photograph, they don’t need to have sympathy but only empathy so, seeing it from their side, even though they don’t agree with it, or yea, even if they disagree or agree. That’s the point is seeing it from the inside of them, so how they understand that these people exist, and they are struggling or that their conditions are like that or people who have the same experience, they can say, oh! I am not alone. So, when they see the photo they know that somebody is like that. That’s what I hope people take away from this.
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