taking photojournalism to the streets
#dysturb
interview with paul gregoire i.t.a.
pierre and benjamin welcome to powder. we’re very excited about the work you’ve been producing with #dysturb and the concept behind it. thanks for taking the time out to chat with us.
Thank you for your interest!
so, you’re photojournalism/street art project has been underway for a year now. what pieces have you pasted onto cities walls so far this year? which pending issues have you been addressing?
We started #Dysturb in March last year and since then we have pasted more than 300 pictures depicting international events in more than 30 countries around the world. #Dysturb is now collaborating with a growing number of photojournalists worldwide. Since the start of the project, we have pasted with more than 100 photojournalists in Paris, Bayeux, Perpignan, Lyon, New York, London, Melbourne and Sarajevo.
how did #dysturb come about? what was the impetus that began your project, bringing life-size photos to people on the city streets?
Everything started when Pierre came back from the Central African Republic. He wasn’t satisfied with the distribution of his work, so he started to look beyond the traditional print format.
It should be noted that when a photojournalist goes on assignment, which can last a few weeks, or months, the result is usually a double spread in a magazine that sells 100, 000 copies per country. That's it, most of the time… and for most, a double spread would be good.
But now, with the increase of social networks and the minimal cost of printing large-scale pictures in B&W, Pierre wanted to go further and paste his images directly in public spaces so that people could see what he saw - without a middleman, an agency or anyone. Basically, he wanted to confront his audience and to engage people in a discussion on what he saw.
I was helping him to paste at the time and we quickly realized that the pastings were very efficient in engaging the public in a variety of issues. People were starting to discuss these pictures between themselves or they started to create dialogues with us, and they would ask for more information. We decided in the next few days that we should keep pasting but not our own pictures. We decided that #Dysturb should be a global operation and would showcase the best current international news photography.
and since you began what has the impact been? how’s the reaction of the public been and have media outlets responded to you?
The pastings were well received; people were curious and happy to discover that we weren’t selling anything. That they weren’t advertisements. People living in the neighborhood loved them and would often ask when the next one would be pasted.
Traditional media outlets have also supported us and they understand our project, and our reasons for doing it.
behind the #dysturb project is the concept of bringing the news onto the city streets. can you expand on this? what does your project achieve that the regular media does not?
We need to bring current news images into public spaces for several reasons. Firstly, we believe that the general public needs to be more informed about our profession. We want to create a dialogue where we can explain the fundamentals of a reportage; how they are published and distributed. We also want to shed some light on the ethics and methods of a photojournalist. In a sense, we are “messengers”. How can we ensure that our messages (reports) will be heard?
Secondly, we believe that part of our job, as photojournalists, is to engage with our audience. We do not rely on our agency, newspaper, magazine or a middleman to do this. We should strive to engage the public directly. For example, before we paste an image, we write the name of the photographer and his caption. Then, when we are ready to paste, we contact the photojournalist so that he can help us to paste his image. Once it is up, we mark the location, and the public can use their smartphone to access an interactive map and either contact the photojournalist or find the full reportage.
Lastly, our primary goal is for #Dysturb to be an educational tool. We have already pasted images in more than 25 different schools worldwide. Each time, we receive positive results. Kids are really fascinated by the large prints, and they are eager to learn about what is actually happening in the world we live in.
but #dysturb is not just carried out by the two of you. you have a whole network. so, who is this larger community comprised of?
As I have already mentioned, there is a growing number of photojournalists who are collaborating with us. We also have the support of numerous international press agencies, public and private institutions, schools, universities, and even various festivals.
We also have a wonderful team working on a daily basis, whether it be on partnership collaborations, community management, website development or video production.
how would you describe the state of journalism today? and how do you see #dysturb as a reaction to the larger media?
How would we describe the state of journalism? As you are aware, traditional press is experiencing a new era. Currently, there is no perfect business model sustaining journalism, thus individuals and organizations are becoming a bit more experimental. This is how #Dysturb was born, and like many others, we are focusing on the idea that anything is possible in our profession. We offer new ways to publish and broadcast current international news events, whilst also trying to help the public understand the dynamics of our profession.
is #dysturb an original project, or has it been influenced by other movements before? and would you say you’ve been influenced by the street art movement?
Of course street artists inspired us. Living in Paris, we are always surrounded by street artwork. Pasting a picture in a public space is not a new concept for Parisians, but one thing we want to highlight is that #Dysturb is not art, it is photojournalism.
besides artistic movements, what else would you say are the major cultural influences of #dysturb?
There is no major influence behind #Dysturb. We are not the first people to paste on walls; we are not even the first one to paste photojournalism on walls.
how would you describe the political motivations behind #dysturb? why are you drawing attention to the images that you do paste upon the walls?
Something I cannot emphasize enough is that #Dysturb is free from political agenda. We do not paste national news. Our aim is to highlight current international news and instigate a discussion about these current events. We live in a global society and, in our opinion, the public needs to be more informed about the dynamics and events that are shaping our future.
From a photojournalistic perspective, we also want people to understand our profession and the stories we tell.
and moving into twenty fifteen and beyond, what do you see as the next steps for #dysturb? just how will your project progress?
#Dysturb is actively seeking the support of interested foundations, especially ones that we can collaborate with both on an educational level and fiscal level. This is one of our major priorities, because we not only want to start supporting those photojournalists, who we are currently collaborating with, but we also want to continue to expand the level of education we are providing students, lecturers and the general public.
thanks so much for being part of powder. we find the work you are doing to be so important, vital, and certainly of the moment.
Thank you for your interest and support!
check out the #dysturb site
like facebook.com/dysturb
instagram @dysturb
photo credits:
1. © Benjamin Girette/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, an image taken by Théo Renaut was placed in Melbourne’s City Centre, as part of the PhotoBook Melbourne Festival. The caption reads: October 28, 2014. Protestors gather at Place de la Nation in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso.
2. © Benjamin Girette/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, an image taken by LouLou D’Aki was pasted at 678A Sydney Rd, Brunswick, as part of the PhotoBook Melbourne Festival. The caption reads: July 23, 2014. Gaza, Palestinian Territories. 31-year old Sahar Dalar Erifi takes deep breaths to endure the pain of intensifying contractions, in the Al Shifa Maternity Clinic in Gaza City. Sahar will give birth prematurely.
3. © Benjamin Girette/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, an image by Adrienne Surprenant/ Hans Lucas was pasted in Brunswick, as part of the PhotoBook Melbourne Festival. The caption reads: December 24, 2014. Nicaragua. In El Tule, Nicaragua, a 23-year-old man was hurt by a bullet in the morning of the 24th of December 2014. He was protesting against the interoceanic canal project led by a Hong Kong enterprise, and the Sandinista government. The project will displace 29,000 people, mainly farmers like him.
4. © Benjamin Girette/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, a photo by Corentin Fohlen/ for Stern and L’Instant Paris Match/ Divergences was pasted in North Melbourne, as part of the PhotoBook Melbourne Festival. The caption reads: Paris, France. January 11, 2015. March against terrorism and for the freedom of expression at the Place de la Nation in Paris.
5. © Benjamin Girette/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, #Dysturb pasted an image by Philip Montgomery in Fitzroy, Melbourne, as part of the PhotoBook Melbourne Festival. The caption reads: Ferguson, Missouri - November 25, 2014. Riots break out on West Florissant Avenue between Ferguson Avenue and Chambers Road following the news that the St. Louis County grand jury has decided to not indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in the shooting of Michael Brown.
6. © Benjamin Petit/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, basket ballers played in front of a collage of images by Daniel Berehulak, for a reportage for Getty Images (left), and an image of Raphael Yaghobzadeh’s (right). Daniel’s images are three portraits that were taken in October, 2014. From left to right, these portraits show Mabel W. Musa, 27, an ambulance nurse; Moses Tarkulah, 29, a hygienist and sprayer; and Otis Bah, 41, a gravedigger, all of whom work at the Bong Ebola Treatment Center near Gbarnga, in Bong County, Liberia.
Raphael’s caption reads: January 14, 2015. Paris, France. More than 1.5 million people take part in a march to support the freedom of expression against terrorism in the French capital after three days of terror left 15 people dead.
7. © Benjamin Petit/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, #Dysturb pasted an image during the Photo Book Melbourne Festival in Australia. Pasted in Collingwood is a picture by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images. Caption: October 25th, 2014, Hong Kong. A protester stands at the police from the crowds in Mongkok in Hong Kong. While the main protest site remains peaceful Mongkok is still a potential flash point. Sunday will start a two-day referendum to gauge protesters response to government proposals to end the street occupation that has been going on a month.
8. © Benjamin Petit/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, an image by Adrienne Surprenant/ Hans Lucas was pasted in Brunswick, as part of the PhotoBook Melbourne Festival. The caption reads: December 24, 2014. Nicaragua. In El Tule, Nicaragua, a 23-year-old man was hurt by a bullet in the morning of the 24th of December 2014. He was protesting against the interoceanic canal project led by a Hong Kong enterprise, and the Sandinista government. The project will displace 29, 000 people, mainly farmers like him.
9. © Benjamin Petit/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, #Dysturb held a talk at McKinnon Secondary College, Melbourne, Australia. Here Pierre and Benjamin spoke with students about the power of photojournalism and the changing media landscape. Pictured is an image by Andy Rocchelli that McKinnon students helped to paste in the school. The caption reads: Ukraine, Sloviansk, Cherevkovka District. A family hides from the bombardment in the cellar.
10. © Benjamin Girette/ #Dysturb
Caption: In February, Tomas van Houtryve/ VII's image was pasted at Ruffian Gallery, Footscray, Melbourne, as part of the PhotoBook Melbourne Festival. The caption reads: Students are seen in a schoolyard in El Dorado County, California. In 2006, a drone strike on a religious school in the village of Chenegai reportedly killed up to 69 Pakistani children.
