Jamaica-born photographer and filmmaker, Ryan Eccleston, came onto our radar recently. His main aim of documenting the black experience in its vastness drew our attention to him. He seems to be both writing and rewriting the story of the Global South in his own way with his constant exploration. We had the opportunity to ask him a few questions about his work and travels.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Hi, I’m Ryan Eccleston. I am a photographer & filmmaker. I was born in Kingston, Jamaica. However, I would describe my childhood as being very nomadic. So one could say it wasn’t a “normal” childhood. At 6 months old I moved to Cairo, Egypt and then later on to a small beach town in Northern Israel called Nahariyya. I pretty much spent my early years traveling between Lebanon, Cyprus, Syria, Jamaica, and The U.S as well. All this traveling was due to my dad working as a field service officer for the United Nations. We were always in transit and some form movement. But at 8 years old my father wanted us to get more acquainted with our culture. So he decided to settle us in Jamaica.
What ignited your interest in travel and documenting humanity within different cultures?
Because of the situation in my household where we would be in one situation for 6 months or a year etc. The fact that within a 2-hour flight we could be speaking a different language and being around different people. This was really highly stimulating to me as a child. It made me understand that this same world and time could be viewed totally differently. Considering who you were speaking to and from what perspective.
Could you recount a particular experience you’ve documented which struck you as particularly memorable?
A memorable experience for me, hmm… I would have to say filming and photographing in the Afar region of Ethiopia was an experience that stayed with me for many years. This was back in 2009. I had just moved to Ethiopia, my mind was just so open. I was 28 at the time and was just ready to see more of the world. It started out with me seeing images of the Afar region while I was in Addis Ababa. After that, I just began to read so much about the area and people. Then I made up my mind that I wanted to go. The region is very hot, the hottest place I’ve experienced ever. It was a very physically grueling experience, I fell ill due to the heat. But I overcame that to create a body of work that I was proud of. The landscape, the people, everything! I had never experienced anything like that before or after in my life. The frankness of the people that lived in the region and how they dealt with the reality of living in that environment. Even though I had been to many places and many experiences, this was something that stuck with me over the years. I have fond memories of those times.
Tell us about how you build relationships with your subjects (if at all you do), and how this contributes to the storytelling in your pieces.
I love having conversations with people whether we have the same viewpoint on a matter or not. I love learning! I really don’t mind being wrong. So many times, a lot of my work comes from an organic place. It normally starts with an itch I want to scratch (knowledge wise). So, many times a relationship is built around a debate or viewpoint on a subject. Many times my camera doesn’t even come out until the very end of that journey of discovery. So a lot of my images are results of conversations and some form of extensive research.
Your work centers on the human condition - specifically the black experience. What are your observations on what this experience is? Why have you chosen to report it, and how does it reflect in your work?
Well, I will start with by saying this, my choice of documenting the black experience was because it was a mirror to myself and my experiences. Being black, there were certain experiences that my subjects and I could connect on, even though being black is not a monolith. I like looking at the diversity of that experience, which goes from the Caribbean, mainland U.S.A, and the African continent and so on.
At what point do the narratives in your work develop? Is it something that is preconceived, or found in the editing room?
I would say the narratives are preconceived. 100%, these are things thought about beforehand consciously or subconsciously.
There is a wealth of documentation of the Global South. Many of which come from external voices. How do you think your voice, as someone from this area of the world, contributes to telling its story?
Yes, definitely there is a wealth of documentation about the Global South. But even though we are increasingly more privy to information etc. there are still stigmas, misconceptions, and half-truths that exist. A single narrative is always a dangerous thing. Growing up I would always notice how developing and poorer “Third World” countries were often portrayed and illustrated by the news. There was rarely, if any, nuance to a story. “These people were to be pitied not respected”, you the viewer should be thankful that you did not suffer this misfortune of being from one of these God-forsaken places. I think my voice contributes to telling the story because it is my reality. Being from the Caribbean and living in Africa we have similar challenges and concerns. Different but similar. There is a familiarity there, so my aim is to use my privilege of being able to travel and tell stories from a more intimate standpoint.
