History and modernity: a photo cycle dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

As it is not scary to realize, but, having crossed the line of the 21st century, mankind again found itself under the threat of the Third World War, which political scientists do not cease to repeat. Perhaps the best way to avoid confrontation is to remember the devastating consequences of any armed conflict. On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the beginning First world war Scottish photographer Peter Macdiarmid presented a series of photo collages that combine military chronicles and images of modern European cities.

The First World War became a defining event in the history of the development of modern Europe, since as a result of this confrontation, not only the borders of individual states were changed, but, in fact, the balance of power in the world arena was redistributed. According to statistics, more than 16 million soldiers and civilians died during the war years, more than 20 million people were injured.

Peter Mackdiarmid did a painstaking job: he found documentary photographs in which you can see dilapidated cities, and visited the same places. He combined two images (modern and century old) together, as a result of which the contrast became simply striking. However, we note that the idea of such photo cycles is not new: regular readers of the site Kulturologiya. RF will surely remember the touching collages of our compatriot Sergei Lavrenkov, who traveled back in time to military Leningrad and modern Petersburg.

The photographs by Peter Mackdiarmid produce an ambiguous impression: on the one hand, the discrepancy between peaceful and military life is terrifying, on the other hand, it is surprising that European cities have practically not changed their appearance over the past century. Many architectural objects destroyed by the bombing have been restored, although there are some that you cannot see today.

Of course, it is also interesting that the photographer managed to find photographs in the archives that depict soldiers of different armies. In some photographs we see the ranks of soldiers bravely going to war, in others - exhausted and tired warriors who have seen and experienced a lot. The main thing that the author tried to convey to the viewer is the idea that war always takes away human lives, destroys an established life, disfigures cities, advancing like an inevitable and unbearable grief.