Samir Mehanović: “I tried to use art as a healing process”

Tuzla-born, but relocated to the UK since 1995, Bosnian Samir Mehanović is one of the most exciting documentary and short film directors to emerge from Western Balkans in the last 2 decades. Initially a theatre director, he turned to cinema on 2001. With his short film The way that we played (you can watch it on http://www.movingimageeducation.org/resources/films/the-way-we-played), based on his own war experiences, he won the Best First Time Director BAFTA Scotland award in 2005. We discuss with him ahead of the world premiere of his latest documentary The fog of Srebrenica, which will be screened during the course of the forthcoming 21^th Sarajevo Film Festival on the 17^th of August.

You initially got involved with theatre. Tell me about those early efforts of yours, the establishment of your own theatrical company, your collaboration with the actors first. Since 2002, however, you seem to have been given up directing theatrical plays. How come did you decide to turn to cinema?

I wanted to study directing before the start of the war in 1992. I remember going to the peace protests with Greek tragedies in my pocket reading them on the bus. Later, they fired shots on us in front of the Parliament building in Sarajevo. I thought: “Fuck, this is real!”. However, I did not give up my dreams. I was in Tuzla and, instead of the guns, I continued my studies in the library and set up small theatre company, working mostly with young people and learning directing through the creation of original plays. That was our world, not the war. When we were invited to attend Edinburgh Festival in August 1995, I decided to stay, as I had enough of war. Who would blame me? Edinburgh is a great city and I continued doing theatre and, once I created the first short film, I moved into doing more films. Why? Perhaps I prefer to record actors and watch them on DVD, instead of looking after them in real life. I’m joking, of course. Perhaps in a very small and poor theatre one feels restricted in exploring ideas on a low budget. Film gives you more freedom, especially with the digital revolution. Nowadays, you can film with inexpensive cameras and edit in your living room. That is so liberating.

 

 

The Fog of Srebrenica, your latest documentary, is not your first film to be inspired by the Yugoslav wars, the other being the awarded short The way that we played, which is based on your war recollections. Would you like to elaborate on those recollections? To what extent have they shaped you both as a human being and an artist?

I really always tried to stop the war changing my destiny. I tried to use art as a healing process, not only for me or the actors, but also for the audience. I think that war is unacceptable to the human beings and we need to warn others and new generations about that: not to repeat the same mistakes. When I was creating the film, I had deep open wounds and emotions that were hidden within me. It took me a lot of strength to complete this documentary. Sometimes, the amount of pain, when listening to the stories of the survivors, was unbearable. Perhaps that’s what creates a good film. Perhaps it is that inner conflict that leads us to accept unbearable through art and to create art.

 

 

Returning to the Fog of Srebrenica, does the “fog” reference have literal or metaphorical connotations?

It has both. The Fog of Srebrenica is a metaphor as a title, but I also have decided to film through the fog, and pretty much every exterior is filmed in the fog. Somebody asked me if the fog portrays sadness, but I disagreed. I believed that it has deep spiritual essence and the ability to comprehend the pain and the suffering, as we are trying to get to some third dimension through the entire movie.

 

 

20 years on, the massacre of Srebrenica is still an open wound, shrouded, however, by a “veil” of hypocrisy especially by the West. How willing were the survivors that you approached to share their painful personal stories? And how diverse is their stance towards the massacre itself and the attribution of responsibility to its perpetrators?

Perhaps there is a reason that the events of July 1995 are called genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. It was a sad event for the modern European and world history. Actually, how many humans can be killed within one week? Would anyone be able to sleep peacefully after that? Can we just imagine cutting over 8.000 trees without purpose- what a loss would that be? What about HUMAN LIFE? What surprises me is that my characters, who lost most of the close members of their families and some of them over 200 members of extended family, show neither hatred, nor will to revenge. They ask for justice. One thing that does bring a big question is denial. To be able to move on in our region of Western Balkans, we need to bring those responsible before justice.  

How would you describe and assess the current political and social condition in Bosnia & Herzegovina?

I am an artist, not the politician. Living over 20 years in UK has taught me what proper democracy means and we do not have it. In Bosnia, unlike in the UK, politics equals mafia and corruption. It is sad that some of the characters in my film live in social housing abandoned by politicians, who have secured a great life for their children, but also great-grandchildren. It makes me sick! I hope that my film can change the life conditions of my characters.

Upon leaving former Yugoslavia, you applied for asylum in the UK, where you’ve been living and working ever since. How hard was it for you to adjust to a new reality? Have you managed to successfully “marry” the Bosnian and the British dimension of your identity?

Thinking back, I can say that I have become a citizen of the world. I love Bosnia and that part of the world, especially homemade food and nature, but I also love British society’s principle of politeness, in the same way that, when I filmed in India and Lebanon border with Syria, I also felt that the world belonged to me. We are truly one world, one humanity, therefore I will continue making movies that matter to this world. My next projects are related to Greece, Sri Lanka, Kenya and I will see which comes first.

I owe a lot to my family and my country Bosnia, but I love also Serbia, Croatia and the rest of the world.

So far you’ve directed documentaries and short films. Do you intend to shoot a fiction film at some point?

Yes, for sure. Fiction is my background, but, sadly, the complexity of making fiction films and the amount of money required are very often preventing film makers, while documentaries give you some kind of freedom and possibility to work on a low budget.

The fog of Srebrenica will be screened at the forthcoming 21^th Sarajevo Film Festival on the 17^th of August as a world premiere. More info on http://www.sff.ba/en

The film’s official website is http://www.srebrenicasurvivorsfilm.com/

Samir Mehanović’s page on vimeo is https://vimeo.com/user14521686

 

Samir Mehanović

Anders Petersen: «Δεν υπάρχουν φωτογραφίες χωρίς πόθους»

Κινούμενος ανάμεσα στο προσωπικό ημερολόγιο, τη φωτογραφία ντοκουμέντο και τη φωτογραφία δρόμου, συχνά με έμφαση στους απόκληρους και τους «καταραμένους», ο 71χρονος Σουηδός Anders Petersen είναι ένας από τους πιο σημαντικούς Ευρωπαίους φωτογράφους. Τo λεύκωμά του Café Lehmitz, που πρωτοκυκλοφόρησε το 1978, κι αποτυπώνει του θαμώνες του ομώνυμου café του Αμβούργου, θεωρείται από τα πιο εμβληματικά φωτογραφικά λευκώματα του 20ού αιώνα. Άνθρωπος ευφυής, σεμνός κι ιδιαιτέρως επικοινωνιακός, απάντησε στις ερωτήσεις μας απολογούμενος για τα (υποτίθεται!) «φτωχά» του αγγλικά, κι αποκαλύπτοντας ότι ετοιμάζει καινούρια δουλειά, χωρίς, ωστόσο, να επιθυμεί να αναφερθεί περισσότερο λεπτομερώς σε αυτήν.

 

 

Τι σημαίνει η φωτογραφία για σας ως μορφή (καλλιτεχνικής) έκφρασης, για να τα πάρουμε από την αρχή; Είναι αναγκαιότητα ή πολυτέλεια;

Για μένα μπορεί να είναι κάτι ανάμεσα, ένα φυσιολογικό καθημερινό πράγμα, κάτι απλό, μια επιστροφή στα βασικά. Αυτό είναι όλο. Σε ό,τι με αφορά, είναι σαν να μιλάς, μια γλώσσα που χρησιμοποιώ για να μιλήσω, να προωθήσω ερωτήσεις και να πω αυτό που έχω να πω. Δεν πρόκειται, λοιπόν, στην πραγματικότητα για τη φωτογραφία. Δε νομίζω πως η φωτογραφία αφορά στη φωτογραφία.

 

 

Σε όλη τη διάρκεια της φωτογραφικής σας σταδιοδρομίας εστιάζετε σε ανθρώπους που ζουν στο περιθώριο της κοινωνίας τόσο στη Σουηδία, όσο και στο εξωτερικό- αλκοολικούς, χρήστες ναρκωτικών, τρόφιμους ψυχιατρικών ιδρυμάτων, κρατούμενους, πόρνες, τραβεστί. Τι σας ελκύει τόσο πολύ σε αυτά τα άτομα και, γενικότερα, στις πιο σκοτεινές κι ανασφαλείς πλευρές της ζωής;

Όχι, δεν υπάρχει η οπτική του εξωτερικού παρατηρητή. Δε φωτογραφίζω ειδικά φτωχούς ή περιθωριοποιημένους ανθρώπους. Αυτό αποτελεί παρεξήγηση. Αφηγούμαι μόνο ιστορίες για ανθρώπους, με τους οποίους μπορώ να ταυτιστώ, και τέτοιοι υπάρχουν παντού. Σε κάθε κοινωνικό επίπεδο, σε κάθε επαγγελματικό τομέα, και βρίσκονται ακριβώς μπροστά σου. Δεν υπάρχει κάτι ηδονοβλεπτικό ή παράξενο σε αυτή την προσέγγιση. Είναι μονάχα ο φυσιολογικός πόθος για ένα ευρύτερο πλαίσιο.

 

 

Πιο συγκεκριμένα, πώς «χτίζετε» μια σχέση εμπιστοσύνης με τα ανθρώπινα «θέματά» σας, διασφαλίζοντας ότι δε νιώθουν ως (και δεν είναι) αντικείμενα εκμετάλλευσης υπό οποιαδήποτε έννοια;

Μπορούμε να κουβεντιάσουμε πολύ για αυτό. Αλλά συναντώ ανθρώπους παντού κι επιλέγω να φωτογραφίσω εκείνους, με τους οποίους νιώθω κοντά. Με τον ένα ή τον άλλο τρόπο, ποτέ δεν έχω μια ξεκάθαρη ιδέα. Καθόλου καδραρίσματα και πραγματικά κανένας έλεγχος. Δεν ψάχνω τόσο για μια φωτογραφία. Περισσότερο αναζητώ μια παρουσία και να μάθω. Η διαδικασία λήψης φωτογραφιών είναι υπερεκτιμημένη κι η πραγματικότητα του κόσμου είναι ήδη καδραρισμένη. Μου αρέσει να βλέπω ό,τι είναι κάτω από την επιφάνεια ή να μπαίνω σε άλλα δωμάτια. Να βρίσκω πόθους από το παρελθόν και να τους ανακατεύω με αυτό που συναντώ σήμερα. Όταν συναντιόμαστε, περισσότερο ψάχνω για τη διαδικασία ταύτισης, όπου δεν υπάρχει η κάμερα ανάμεσα, μόνο η διαίσθηση και τα αισθήματα- κι όχι ο εγκέφαλος, όχι τόσο. Ξέρεις, για μένα είναι η συνάντηση που έχει σημασία, οι φωτογραφίες είναι πολύ λιγότερο σημαντικές. Είμαι περίεργος και θέλω να μάθω περισσότερα, για αυτό και βρίσκομαι σε τέτοια απόσταση που να μπορώ να αγγίζω και να ακούω. Πρόκειται για τους πιο μύχιους πόθους μας και τα κρυφά μας όνειρα.

 

 

Με ρωτάς πώς «χτίζω» μια σχέση. Πρώτα από όλα, δεν είμαι τόσο ένας φωτογράφος. Δεν ψάχνω για ό,τι μας χωρίζει, αλλά για αυτό που μας φέρνει κοντά. Μπορεί να είναι τόσο πολλά, αλλά, για να τα ανακαλύψεις, πάντοτε ενυπάρχει σεβασμός και μοίρασμα. Και μόλις τα νιώσεις, κι είσαι εκεί, είσαι σχεδόν διάφανος, θέλεις να επιστρέφεις συνέχεια. Αισθάνομαι την επιθυμία να εκπλήσσομαι από το απρόβλεπτο και να έρχομαι κοντά, ή πιο κοντά, αυτό μετράει. Το να δώσεις και να μοιραστείς φωτογραφίες είναι μια πλατφόρμα. Συνάντησα πολλούς από τους στενότερους φίλους μου φωτογραφίζοντάς τους κι επιστρέφοντάς τους τις φωτογραφίες μετά τη λήψη. Με αυτή την έννοια, το ότι είμαι φωτογραφος αποτελεί προνόμιο. Εξακολουθώ να συναντώ ανθρώπους, των οποίων φωτογραφίες τράβηξα στη δεκαετία του ’70 και του ’80. Δεν μπορώ να σταματήσω να ενδιαφέρομαι για τους ανθρώπους, την ανθρώπινη συμπεριφορά- οι αντιφάσεις μπορεί να είναι αξιαγάπητες, και μερικές φορές βάναυσες. Η προσέγγισή μου είναι, ακόμη, ένας συνδυασμός ματιάς, αγγίγματος, συνάντησης με ανθρώπους, ξανά και ξανά, το να είσαι μοναχικός, αλλά, επίσης, το να περνάς καλά, να μαθαίνεις περισσότερα και να μοιράζεσαι αυτή την ιδιαίτερη τρυφερότητα της αλληλεγγύης. Ή έτσι φαίνεται.

 

 

Προσωπικό ημερολόγιο, φωτογραφία ντοκουμέντο, φωτογραφία δρόμου... πώς θα περιγράφατε την προσέγγισή σας;

Αν θέλεις ένα απλό τρόπο να περιγράψεις την προσέγγισή μου, πιθανώς μπορείς να χρησιμοποιήσεις τη λέξη «ιδιωτικό ντοκιμαντέρ». Αλλά έχεις δίκιο, θυμίζει, επίσης, πολύ ημερολόγιο. Αν έχεις γερά μάτια κι αρκετή διαίσθηση, μπορείς εύκολα να καταλάβεις ότι οι φωτογραφίες μου «πλησιάζουν» τις αυτοπροσωπογραφίες. Προσπαθώ να αποτυπώνω πράγματα που φαίνονται έγκυρα, με τον τρόπο που τα βλέπω. Αλλά δεν υπάρχουν φωτογραφίες χωρίς πόθους.

 

 

Σε μια από τις διάσημες ατάκες του, ο Garry Winogrand (σημ.: από τους πιο εμβληματικούς Αμερικανούς φωτογράφους δρόμου του 20ού αιώνα, με καταγωγή από το Μπρονξ της Νέας Υόρκης) είχε κάποτε πει ότι «κάθε φωτογραφία είναι μια μάχη της φόρμας έναντι του περιεχομένου. Οι καλές είναι στα πρόθυρα της αποτυχίας». Τι είναι πιο σημαντικό για σας- ή πρόκειται για πλαστό δίλημμα;

Ναι, μου αρέσει αυτό που λέει ο Winogrand. Όταν βρίσκεσαι υπερβολικά στην ασφαλή πλευρά του οτιδήποτε, εύκολα αυτό γίνεται φανερό και λιγότερο συναισθηματικό. Κατά κάποιο τρόπο, πρέπει να σπρώξεις τον εαυτό σου απέναντι στον τοίχο και να πάρεις μερικά ρίσκα, ιδίως αν είσαι περίεργος και θέλεις να μάθεις περισσότερα για τους ανθρώπους και τη ζωή. Το να έχεις ένα εργαλείο, όπως μια κάμερα, είναι ένα καλό «κλειδί» για να ανοίξεις πόρτες και να μπεις σε απαγορευμένα δωμάτια. Ποτέ δε θα είχα την οποιαδήποτε πρόσβαση σε μια φυλακή ή ένα ψυχιατρικό ίδρυμα χωρίς μια κάμερα.

 

 

Μπορεί να ακούγεται κλισέ, αλλά τι σας ιντριγκάρει περισσότερο στο ασπρόμαυρο;

Η ερώτησή σου είναι πολύ καλή. Μου αρέσει το ασπρόμαυρο. Για μένα είναι πιο αφηρημένο κι έτσι δεν περιορίζομαι στην πραγματικότητα του έγχρωμου κόσμου. Σκεπτόμενος με αυτό τον τρόπο, μια ασπρόμαυρη φωτογραφία μερικές φορές θέτει περισσότερα ερωτήματα κι έχει περισσότερα χρώματα από μια έγχρωμη.

 

 

Συνήθως φωτογραφίζετε με μια κάμερα «Contax T3», την οποία συνεχώς κουβαλάτε μαζί σας. Τη νιώθετε σαν προέκταση του εαυτού σας;

Προτιμώ μια μικρή και φτηνή κάμερα, αλλά δεν την κουβαλώ συνέχεια μαζί μου. Και ναι, θέλω η κάμερα να είναι οργανική και κοντά, κομμάτι του σώματος. Με αυτό τον τρόπο, γίνεται ευκολότερο να αλληλεπιδράς, χωρίς να δείχνεις τόσο σεβασμό στην κάμερα.

 

 

Σε ηλικία 71 χρονών, αποτελείτε έναν από τους πιο ολοκληρωμένους κι ανησυχαστικούς, από άποψη προσωπικής ματιάς, Ευρωπαίους φωτογράφους. Υπάρχει μια χρονική στιγμή, κατά την οποία ένας φωτογράφος πραγματικά συνταξιοδοτείται;

Όχι, δεν παίρνεις σύνταξη ποτέ. Μπορείς, επίσης, να φωτογραφίζεις χωρίς κάμερα, συνδεόμενος μόνο με τα μάτια και τη διαίσθησή σου.

 

 

Το προσωπικό site του Anders Petersen είναι http://www.anderspetersen.se/

 

 

Anders Petersen (Photo credit: David Kregenow).

Shirley Collins: “I just love English music - it’s in my soul!”

As a musically inexperienced teenager 22 years ago, I was introduced to the wonders of British folk music, through a -then- totally unknown to me female singer with a haunting, mesmerizing voice: the singer was Shirley Collins and the extraordinary LP I’ve come to primarily associate innovative British folk music with was Folk Roots New Routes, a collaboration with Davy Graham. When I was in London for post-graduate studies some 10 years ago, Shirley Collins even had the courtesy, with a soulful glow on her face, to sign a copy of her Heroes in Love EP for me, after one of the reading sessions of her fascinating book America over the water. On the occasion of her upcoming 80^th birthday and in expectation of the publication of her second book and the release of the biographical documentary The Ballad of Shirley Collins in 2016, I had the honor and the pleasure to conduct the following conversation with her through e-mail.

In an interview with Maggie Holland of Folk Roots back in November 1988, you’ve stated that you “grew up in a family of people who were ardent socialists and ardent lovers of the arts”, most notably your mother, Aunt Grace and your uncle Fred Ball. Did they encourage you to get involved with the arts and, eventually, take up singing, or did it just emerge naturally?

My sister Dolly and I were always encouraged to read, to listen to music and to sing. Dolly had piano lessons and she always wanted to be a composer, and I wanted to be a singer. This is what we both hoped for. And yes, somehow it emerged and happened naturally - but with a lot of hard work!

Arvo Pärt, the famous Estonian composer of classical and sacred music, once said that “the human voice is the most perfect instrument of all”. Do you agree? Were you properly trained as a singer, or do you simply sing as you speak, as you have so eloquently put it?

I suppose I agree with what Arvo Pärt said, but I also think that the human voice is enhanced when it is accompanied and when the harmonies are right. And no, I never trained as a singer. Folk music sounds best to me when sung with your natural voice and your local accent, otherwise it sounds false.

In your fascinating book America over the water you delve into the music and songs collecting trip with Alan Lomax in the US in 1959. How did you two meet back then, how did your artistic relationship evolve over time and which are you most enduring memories of that trip, more than half a century later?

I first met Alan in London around 1955 at a party that the singer Ewan MacColl gave for Alan, who had returned to London from collecting traditional folk music in Spain and Italy. I’m not sure that our “artistic relationship” did evolve! Alan did not approve of the recordings I made with Davy Graham, or with early music instruments or even with Dolly’s arrangements. There were a lot of things we didn’t agree about!

My most enduring memories of that trip?  Because I wrote a book about it, and still give a show called America over the water, all of it stays fresh in my mind. It’s the wonderful ordinary people and their songs - just being there at the right time. The two people (and their music) that I loved best? Almeda Riddle, the Arkansas mountain singer, and Fred McDowell and his Mississippi blues. I can still see him at the end of his day’s work picking cotton, walking into the clearing in Como, Mississippi, dressed in his denim overalls and carrying a guitar. I have a photograph of him on the wall of my study.

 

As a musically inexperienced teenager 22 years ago, I was introduced to British folk music and your singing through your collaboration with Davy Graham on the seminal Folk Roots New Routes LP, one of the most adventurous works ever committed to vinyl. Would you like to elaborate on this creative partnership? Were you aware at the time, even subconsciously, that you were creating something indeed groundbreaking, as the title of the LP suggested?

This collaboration was suggested by my then husband, Austin John Marshall. We must have known that it was going to be different from what else was happening in folk music at the time, and later realized that it was indeed “groundbreaking”. Davy was a genius! And he added a new dimension to the songs, without detracting from them or making them lose their identity.

In the liner notes of the sublime Power of the true love knot LP from 1968, another one of my favorites, you write that its theme is “the idea of true love as a power outside society's control”. How powerful has true love been in your life, if I am allowed to ask?

Oh dear! Love is all-important, the thing (I) we crave most. I was never fortunate enough to find a lasting one so I’ve lived alone for the last many years. Sometimes it saddens me, but I’ve got used to it!

Despite your initial reservations, you ventured into folk rock with No Roses LP, collaborating with a stellar line-up of musicians and singers under the title of the “Albion Country Band”. This collaboration proved artistically successful. How come didn’t you continue into that direction?

No Roses was a one-off. If you tried to repeat it, you wouldn’t succeed. In any case, you need a lot of money to make such an album, and there’s not much money around, where folk music is concerned (not the genuine traditional songs, anyway), so we were fortunate to be able to make just the one No Roses.

You are considered to be one of the cornerstones of British folk revival. Do you think of yourself as a traditional singer, or a revivalist? And what’s the crucial difference between these terms?

I think, because of my age and my working-class origins, I call myself both a traditional singer and a revivalist. And because I learnt a great many of my songs from field recordings of genuine country people, I feel so close to them that I believe I’m a conduit between them and people nowadays, and between then and now. I hope that doesn’t sound too pretentious! These songs and their (mostly rural) working class origins give a voice to the ordinary people, telling of their experience of life and of past social history.

 

You retired from singing shortly after your final LP, to date. A year ago, however, you triumphantly returned on stage, performing two songs in front of a delighted audience. What has changed in the meantime, besides David Tibet’s continuous encouragement and support, which helped you regain your confidence in your voice? Would you try it again sometime?

I love English folk music so much, that, although I stopped singing in public many years ago, I never stopped singing inside my head. David Tibet kept asking me to sing at one of his concerts -even one song- and because over many years he had become such a supporter, and such a good friend, I finally said “Yes, ok!” - and did it!  Then this year on January 31st I sang two songs, along with short readings from my new book (which I’ve nearly finished now) at Wesley Stace’s Cabinet of Wonders in London.  And -with a bit of luck- I’m going to record another album…

The Ballad of Shirley Collins, a feature documentary about your life and art, is currently underway.  Do you feel excited about it- or honored, perhaps?

Well, yes, it is exciting, and yes, it’s an honor, too. I agreed to it because the two filmmakers, Rob Curry and Tim Plester, made such a beautiful film about the Adderbury Morris Side. I know I’m in safe hands, but am fascinated to see how it turns out.

You are also working hard on your new book By the mark on his hand, due for release soon. What is it about?

Please don’t call it that! That won’t be the final title! By the mark on his hand was a working title, the words taken from a Sussex song. It’s autobiographical, it’s about songs (and has a few songs in it), it’s about Sussex, and how important the Sussex landscape is to me, it’s about my own folk heroes and heroines.

Your vinyl LPs and EPs have become increasingly collectible over the years. Did you expect that, when you first started singing? Or does it even matter?

Completely unexpected! Having never made much money from my recordings, it’s a bit maddening to see some of them fetch hundreds of pounds. So someone’s making money - but still not me!!!

Do you still listen to music, be it British folk or otherwise, in search for something special? What delights you the most these days on the musical front?

Yes, I listen to people such as Nic Jones, Barry Dransfield and John Kirkpatrick. I listen to the field recordings we made in America in 1959. I listen to English field recordings. I listen to early music - Monteverdi is my favorite. I listen to Purcell, Vaughan Williams, George Butterworth. I just love English music - it’s in my soul!

Are you at all acquainted with Greek folk music, of the past or the present?

Forgive me - but I’m not…

You are approaching your 80th birthday. Still, you look so fresh and vital- and function likewise, which, to me, is quite astounding! Is there some secret “recipe”?

Thank you! It must be all the honey I eat! And that I love to be out in the countryside and fresh air.

Thank you for the music during all these years!

Thank you, Yannis!

I would like to sincerely thank Polly Marshall for her valuable contribution to the conduction of this interview. And, of course, Shirley Collins for being such an inspiration throughout all these years!

Shirley Collins’ official website is http://www.shirleycollins.co.uk/

The Ballad of Shirley Collins’ official website is http://www.shirleycollinsmovie.com/

Photo credits (top to bottom): Brian Shuel/Collections, Brian Shuel/Collections, Karolina Urbaniak, Andrew Hasson/REX.