Valley of Tears

About The Exhibition

Pulitzer Prize Winning photographer Cathal McNaughton returns to Belfast Exposed in August with Valley of Tears, a collection of portraits shot while covering civil unrest in Kashmir. McNaughton has previously shown a collection of his work documenting the plight of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar at Belfast Exposed - featuring the work that won him the Pulitzer Prize for Photography in 2018.

A photographer and photojournalist of global importance, McNaughton's work cuts straight to the heart of the subjects he covers. Valley of Tears is no exception and these portraits - exhibiting McNaughton's skill and empathy behind the lens - capture the story of two very similar groups of young men, caught on two very different sides of ongoing civil unrest.

While working as a photojournalist in Srinagar, Kashmir - the disputed region between India and Pakistan - McNaughton took a series of honest, stripped back portraits of participants on both sides of ongoing civil unrest. With only natural light and nothing more than 'gaffer tape and bed sheets' to form a studio, the portraits were shot quickly, in a lull between periods of unrest and with only limited time for McNaughton to build trust and understanding with his subjects. McNaughton was attracted to Kashmir, the disputed region between India and Pakistan, as he identified parallels between the civil unrest in the region and the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

In some cases, he had only a few minutes where conditions were right and he was able to shoot. Some subjects chose to pose with weapons or with particular paraphernalia, with both groups of men easily identifiable via their respective uniforms. As McNaughton notes, while only one group of subjects wore an official uniform of the state, the young men on both sides had their own distinct ‘costumes’ which they wear to play out their roles within the conflict.

The results - a series of portraits that will be on display in Belfast Exposed's Studio Gallery from the 4th to 27th August - capture both the 'stone pelters' and members of the security forces in situ. All those photographed chose to cover their faces in some form, with some also choosing to pose with weapons, body armour or other items related to their part in the ongoing clashes. Each subject was therefore captured as they chose to present themselves, caught in the moment between periods of unrest but very much in contrast to how they would appear if photographed during the ongoing riots a short time later.

'We are delighted to once again be showing a collection of Cathal McNaughton's work. A photographer and photo journalist of global importance, Cathal's work cuts straight to the heart of the stories he covers. Valley of Tears is no exception and these portraits showcase a completely different side of the story of civil unrest, as well as exhibiting McNaughton's skill and empathy behind the lens, given the difficult conditions in which this work was shot'.

Deirdre Robb, Belfast Exposed CEO.