Police pictures

by Sandra S. Phillips

The mug shot, the scene of the crime, photographic evidence - all of these are predicated on the belief that the photograph shows the truth, unvarnished and indisputable. But does it? In a remarkable survey of over 120 images from public and private sources, Police Pictures questions the conjunction of photography and enforcement and challenges the ability of image to represent the truth. From haunting photographs of the Lincoln conspirators to Weegee's sordid murder victims and the prisoner portraits taken by the Khmer Rouge, Police Pictures explores the policing function of photography - and the controversial manipulations of images by and for the forces of authority - in a catalogue of the power of the law and the lens.