INTERVIEW: Steve McCurry Tells of A Story Within a Story

Steve McCurry, who are you? Philosopher? Journalist? Truth Teller? It is simple to write that your images record the stories of others unselfconsciously, navigating the narratives of the unseen. It is another matter to contemplate the power of an artistic peripheral vision, used to broaden perception and bring attention to issues relegated to the margins of our everyday. At the hallmark of your career, you risked your life to cross the Pakistan border into rebel-controlled areas of Afghanistan just before the Soviet invasion, disguising yourself as a local. It was George Orwell who put it best, ‘In a time of universal deceit - telling the truth is a revolutionary act.’

Tell me a little about your subjects and how you photograph them. What is usually their response to your eagerness to be so close to them?

If you can convey a general interest in people and establish trust, humour, people will come to a point where they are happy that someone is interested. You also have to have your own self confidence and believe in what you are doing; that this person you are talking to is going to be a great portrait. It’s going to go great for them and for you; that’s the space you want to get into. You want to involve the person, bring them into the process, and have them participate and maybe see their picture on the back of your digital camera. Once they see themselves, they get involved.

Steve McCurry was speaking exclusively with After Nyne Editor in Chief, Luciana Garbarni. Beetles+Huxley Gallery will be showcasing a cross-section of works from McCurry’s career until March 19th, 2016. The exhibition will be an opportunity to view McCurry's most iconic images. Visit www.beetlesandhuxley.com for information.

This interview appears in full in Issue 9 of After Nyne Magazine. Click here to download Issue 9.