Originally introduced in late nineteenth-century Paris, crime scene photography was designed to capture an accurate, objective overview of a serious crime scene. This budding technology was then adopted by police departments around the world, quickly becoming an essential tool for criminal investigation.
But within a few decades, the rise of tabloid journalism and the work of photojournalists such as the American photographer Weegee helped transform what was once a private forensic document - and visual record - into a popular cultural style. This “crime scene aesthetic” can now be found everywhere from museum exhibitions and Hollywood films to fashion campaigns, music videos, contemporary photography and even reality TV.
In this talk, Catriona Byers will delve into key moments in the development of the crime scene aesthetic, tracing the shift from crime-solving tool to commercially valuable artistic staple that stretches from Taxi Driver and Twin Peaks to Taylor Swift and America’s Next Top Model. Why do these photos continue to capture the public imagination? And what does this ultimately say about our enduring relationship to glamour, sex, death, true crime, and violent aesthetic imagery?
CATRIONA BYERS
Catriona Byers
is a writer, photographer and historian specialising in urban
death, policing, medicine, and photography from the
nineteenth-century to the present day. She is currently completing
a PhD in History at King’s College London, where her thesis
compares the nineteenth-century morgues of Paris and New York,
alongside research projects relating to crime scene photography and
ghosts in the archive. She is based in Paris, and moonlights as a
photographer and food stylist alongside her historical research.
For more of Catriona’s work, you can follow her on Instagram
@heymorguegirl, or visit www.heymorguegirl.com
| Ticket | Event time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
|
Shot Dead
Crime Scene Photography |
19:00 - 20:30 | £12.00 |
Address
The Century Club, 61 - 63, Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W1D 6LQ
Nearest Station
Piccadilly Circus (Tube)
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