The final series we shot at the rehabilitation centre ARDI. These images show that Amanat is still struggling to ‘normalise’ himself. Without deconstructing his impairment, they remind us of the daily challenges he faces, and put into perspective what he has achieved and is still doing.
As well as putting Amanat’s disability into perspective, I wanted to show how Amanat is not taking his situation lying down; he is interacting with the health carer and obviously questioning the procedure. This accords with the research I have done on disability representation as well as my own principles.
Different from all the other photofilms, we have ‘dared’ to show Amanat as a ‘vulnerable’ disabled person. This runs counter to the overall narrative, but works because of the strength of his success stories and self –confidence. I would not have attempted to show Dinara or Adilzhan in this way. I am sensitive to the participants and understand that the personal narrative dictates the representation.
Carl Whetham photography 