Hanged

Forgive me if I'm about to ruin your evening.

Yesterday, I mentioned that we'd been to see the exhibition of photos by Philip Jones Griffiths at the National Conservation Centre.

I've spent most of today working, but I did take some time out to have a good leaf through the book of the exhibition. This image makes me keep coming back. The caption on the BBC website isn't quite accurate. It is near Pentonville Prison. It was taken in 1958 and its true that a friend of the group had just been hanged. They're waiting outside the pub for it to be opening time.

I don't think I've ever seen an image that has stopped me in my tracks quite like this one. Sure, it needs the caption to make it what it is (and some would say that the best photos don't need captions - this shows that generalisations always have exceptions). Its the blank look in the faces; the way they are a group but aren't really interacting as one. They're all there for a purpose - and a harrowing one at that. Its also a picture that asks lots of questions. Did they see the hanging? Who was it? Why?

If I'd been one of the men in that photo, given the circumstances, I'd have told the photographer where to stick his camera. It makes me wonder how Philip Jones Griffiths managed to get out of there alive.

And for all those reasons, its a remarkable photo.

Tomorrow - fluffy kittens and cotton wool. Promise