Welcome to MAI 9: Photography & Resistance

Dearest MAI Readers,

Resistance. Say the word. Let it resonate. Keep hold of what it means. We have resisted. We have persisted, for so long, with no end in sight.

As we sat down to write these words, the US Supreme Court announced that they had struck down Roe vs Wade. This was expected, of course. Yet, as with all such body blows, it represents not an ending but a beginning. The world’s blind march into a dystopia and the erosion of the fundamental rights of all but the patriarchal elite show no sign of abating, with each new hit setting the stage for the next.

Since our last issue, the global need for resistance to the power-hungry privileged, the corrupt and the violent has once again become quite apparent. Among many other heartbreaking events, we saw the outbreak of the unjust war in Ukraine—one that causes suffering through unimaginable abuse of civilians. More recently, we’ve heard media reports on the limits of humanitarian aid and support for the already displaced victims of an earthquake in Afghanistan. These are just a few, among many, upsetting examples from the last six months—all demonstrating that the need to resist the global governing systems is now as urgent as ever.

As much as women and other non-privileged social groups are often the innocent victims in this world run by men in power, they are also the brave rebels who believe that standing up against oppression can change the world. This issue is about them and their admirable refusal to stay silent. Their reluctance to comply and accept injustice takes many forms. It may manifest as a courageous move in a domestic environment, a political action, or a creative project.

Focussed on photography as a medium employed to counter patriarchal powers, uncover abuse, or document social resistance, our selection of articles celebrates the courage of female and non-binary people from around the world. We invite you to engage with them as, among many other forms of abuse and marginalisation, they oppose traditions, corruption, unfair treatment, or violence across all sections of their societies. First conceived by our brilliant guest editor Kylie Thomas from the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies in Amsterdam, this issue documents how photography links with political, artistic, and personal moments of resistance on a larger or smaller scale.

It took us over a year to commission, peer review and edit this issue with Kylie and her energetic collaborator, Brian Müller, a South African-born scholar based in Canada. Their drive to reach out to academics, artists and journalists helped start and develop this project, which was supported by a European Commission grant.* We hope that the writing and images you encounter in this issue will move, inspire, and above all, serve to remind you that resistance is always necessary and appropriate.

From our MAI front, we would like to take this occasion to thank our Founding Editor, Anna Backman Rogers, for the four years of her editorial service. She has recently stepped away from the day-to-day running of the journal to limit her responsibilities to the role of Commissioning Editor while also turning her attention to the new MAI imprint at Punctum Books. This means that we (Anna Misiak & Houman Sadri) now share the responsibility for working with guest editors of themed issues with the support of our MAI Collective and MAI Board. We also prepare and proof each new MAI issue for publication. The articles here are the first product of our collaboration with our guest editors. We couldn’t be more grateful to them and to our authors for sharing their work with you.

As always, towards the end of the issue, you will find a few miscellaneous articles from authors focussing on other aspects of visual culture, which may not fit our focus theme at first glance. Yet, these final contributions remind us that resistance to the status quo goes beyond one medium, one place, one project. When MAI started four years ago, this courage to question and the spirit of care brought us all together. Today we remember that our journal was born out of radical resistance. We must not back down.

Happy reading & happy inspiration to stand up against oppression.

With solidarity & courage,

Anna Misiak & Houman Sadri

(Falmouth, UK & Gothenburg, Sweden)

June, 2022

* The publication of this special issue was partially supported by the European Commission within the framework of H2020-EU.1.3.2. as part of the project ‘Fem-Resist: Women, Photography and Resistance in Transnational Perspective’, Grant agreement ID: 838864.