'Unique and powerful photographs by the celebrated Tom Stoddart reveal forty years of significant world events
A selection of captivating images from the multi-award winning photojournalist Tom Stoddart will go on display at White Cloth Gallery, Leeds this October. ‘Perspectives’ comprises many of Stoddart’s greatest shots from his distinguished career, featuring some of the most important moments in world history such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the election of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first black president and the Siege of Sarajevo.'
The White Cloth Gallery is a cafe bar nestled in a back street behind Leeds railway station. Its clientele seemed more interested in their burgers than the work on show - an indifference that seemed callous considering the imagery of peoples pain and suffering. 
The large format black and white prints were presented without glass. While the card mounts, being sadly warped, gave the show an air of car boot sale this was still quite consciously journalism presented as art. There is no doubting the craft skill of Tom Stoddart - and there’s is seldom cause to not celebrate craft - but viewing images of pain and suffering divorced from the context of time and place left a whiff of disrespect in the air. Perhaps that’s hard - there were some accompanying texts to contextualise some of the work and it was presented in sets - but I do wonder what an 20 year old art student would think about the siege of Sarajevo - would they know what it is ? One piece in particular raised some issues. It is an uplifting image of child holding a baby - there’s a sense of hope amidst the carnage of famine in Sudan. The picture was for sale, and although graciously half the proceeds were to be donated to charity, the manifest monetisation of starvation left me a little queasy. Clearly Tom Stoppard has every right to make a living from his work - but like clergy or doctors perhaps we prefer this to be remain unsaid.
Some other images that made me think …
A shot of Zulu marchers squatting in panic as a demonstration turns ugly. The photographers view point is clearly standing - looking down. We are left conscious of the image makers vulnerability. His presence is felt. This narrative is very powerful stuff.
A picture of a man in front of huge explosion. He looks like a photographer. Again - this feels biographical. Personal.
A woman with a very wrinkled face in front of cracked wall. Her visage echoes the unseen damage of an earthquake in India.
A heartrending image of a woman squatting to give birth. Next to her is an older child. Then next in line in the dying person - more corpse like than living. The composition is key. (Seeing this I recalled a quote from Fred Ritchin’s Bending the Frame - ‘George Roger famously gave up war photography after he found himself, at the end of world war two, ”getting the dead into nice photographic compositions”’.
A iconic image of a hercules plane food drop. This seems somehow archaic now that the charity industry more carefully manages its imagery of hopefulness not helplessness.
A child alone in a field of grass crawling to find food from a drop. He is animalistic - like a Gollum.
A beautiful image of a woman with a headscarf reading with a candle. Chiaroscuro lighting from Sarajevo.
A young girl running from shell fire in the siege of Sarajevo. She is holding a dolly and is smiling for the camera.
