Wolfgang Oelze

“Valley Of The Shadow Of Death”, 1855, glass negative on silver gelatin print (2023), 36 cm x 28 cm

This reproduction of the historic photograph is shown as part of the video installation “The Valley”.

In 1855, British photographer Roger Fenton pioneered photography during the First Crimean War, sending images back to Europe that are considered rare photographic evidence of the events and some of the earliest photographic war coverage. As recently as 2003, Susan Sontag, in her essay “Regarding the Pain of Others”, questioned the authenticity of one of Roger Fenton's most famous photographs, “Valley Of The Shadow Of Death”. The image shows a view of a battlefield strewn with cannonballs. However, the photo exists in two slightly different versions, suggesting a manipulation of the subject. Susan Sontag's theory was disproved in 2007.