Talia Woodin

As image makers and artists it is important that our work and creative platforms reflect the issues we are portraying with transparency and openness, whatever our subject matter.

Ella had the opportunity of interviewing Talia Woodin, an activist from London using photography as a medium of expressing the numerous layers of Injustice that put many at a disproportionate risk to the climate crisis.

Her work spans across an entire spectrum of interconnecting issues, having spent a large chunk of lockdown at various HS2 camps and actively fighting for climate justice and all that comes with this. In this interview we talk about how she came to be doing this work as an activist and photographer and how vital it is for environmental movements to be intersectional if we are to achieve climate justice.

There is so much we could start with, but shall we begin by introducing who you are and what it is you do?

My name is Talia, I’m 20 years old and live in London. First and foremost I am an activist, but I think that this involves and entails a lot more than just the work that I do. My activism extends so much further than just this, into every aspect of my life. Up until last year I was a Visual Anthropology student at Goldsmiths, University of London. Due to various reasons I dropped out and in the process my activism became the central focus of how I live my life, rather than just a hobby on the side. I now ‘work’ as a freelance climate and social justice activist and content creator, with a lot of my work based around film and photography. I do this as a job, as a passion and as a lifestyle.

What was the first protest you attended?

The first protest I attended was probably as a foetus, both my parents being full time politicians and environmental activists, I was born into a world in which ‘protest’ was a large part of what we did. The first one I can remember attending though, was the anti Iraq War protest in 2003. That’s me and my younger brother in the pushchair at the bottom.

When was the first time you decided to photograph a protest?

I first got into photography around the age of seven or eight and became quickly obsessed with it. After saving up to buy my own digital point and shoot shortly after this, taking photos and making short films became regular activities for me. The first protest I remember taking photos of was the march against Government cuts, in London back in 2011. Below is one of my photos and a photo of myself, my brother and my godmother on the march.

As this interview is based around the importance of intersectionality within the environmental movement, could you explain what this means to any readers who may not already know?

Intersectionality is the study of how different aspects of social and political identity categories (e.g. sex, gender, class, race, ability etc) interact or ‘intersect’ and result in varying forms and systems of oppression, upheld in society. In reference to the environmental and climate movement; it is the understanding of how these various factors interact and result in the multiple forms of environmental, human and climate destruction and inequalities that play out and further, how these intersections can be used when working for justice in these areas. For example, understanding how systems of oppression such as white supremacy and the patriarchy have resulted in the exploitation of both ecosystems and human populations, and how dismantling these systems can also lead to dismantling this damage.

What steps can be taken to creating these spaces of intersectionality?

Two very important steps that can be taken in working towards intrsectionality are;

1-recognising those groups that are on the receiving end of the various systems of oppression that function within our society
2-recognising the relative privileges that each of us have and using those in order to learn from others experiences and advocate for their voices and resistance.

What would an intersectional movement look like?

I think this is dependent on a lot of factors , it’s something that I am still working on understanding and building on. However, from my experience, that it most importantly comes down to

acknowledgement of the privileges held by any given group or individual and rather than attempting to disregard or avoid that privilege, instead using it as a tool through which one can learn from, advocate for and platform the voices and experiences of those with less of such privilege.

Through these actions those voices can become central parts of both the message and the actions of a movement, which in turn can help to raise their resistance and help to educate others through that. One example of this is the work that myself, and many other youth activists in the UK, have been involved with through Extinction Rebellion Youth (XRY) and Extinction Rebellion Internationalist Solidarity Network (XRISN).Over the past year we have built relationships and connections with many Indigenous groups and Global South communities. During that time we have had the opportunity to learn huge amounts from their experiences whilst also using our platforms to advocate for their ongoing resistance.

Below are photos from The Flourishing Diversities Summit in September 2019, which XRY and XRISN helped to coordinate and an image from the Global Justice Rebellion site, again co-cordinated by XR and XRISN, during the October 2019 International Rebellion. Both events saw the coming together of many groups of activists from the UK as well as representatives from a whole range of Indigenous Communities, who gathered for various events.

As a photographer, what responsibility do you feel you have for capturing all forms of injustice- which people may not initially link to the climate crisis?

My practice of photography has always been hugely linked to my engagement with various forms of activism, within different movements. As I have always been more drawn to photographing people and their involvement with different forms of activism, I have found that both my want and feeling of responsibility, to capture and represent the vast array of ‘sections’ within the climate justice movement has only grown. Learning about Intersectionality and the crucial role that it plays in climate justice work, provided a pivotal moment for both my activism and photography. I believe that visual communication is such a crucial part of this work and of raising the voices of oppressed groups, and this is something I continually strive to do through my work.

Following on from the previous question, how can we use photography to educate people of injustices?

As I said in my previous answer, photography and other forms of visual content, are such integral parts of how we communicate and not only within activism.

A photograph or film can make, break or build a movement and this is something that can be seen throughout history.
So much of our understanding of the world comes from the media and so engaging with this and promoting content which highlights these issues is so important. Especially when it comes to content of, or created by marginalised groups and individuals. Actions as simple as sharing content on social media can often make a huge difference.

There has been a lot of momentum recently to create these spaces where people of colour and other marginalised people are recognised, do you have any tips on how we can maintain this?

As a white person I have had the privilege of not having to engage with these issues to the extent that those on the receiving end of them do, just in day to day life. I am still very new to this work and continue to make mistakes as I try to educate myself on how to do it better. Because of this I acknowledge that I am not the person to be asking when it comes to how we can maintain this work. All I can say is that education and conversation are essential. The more we prioritise our learning of and engagement with these issues, the more the experiences of such marginalised groups will be shared and advocated for. This work is not new and will not be ‘completed’ anytime soon I think finding the balance between recognising the amount of work required, and therefore acknowledging that it won’t be easy, whilst still remaining committed and motivated is essential.

Do you feel hopeful that we can all come together to create a society which is green and intersectional?

I do not believe that the society we currently function in will ever be these things as it was built for the specific function of prioritising and maintaining systems and groups that stand for the complete opposite. If we are to have any hope of bringing about a more just, intersectional and sustainable society we will have to do a great amount of dismantling and relearning in the process, which may mean many elements of society as we know it being sacrificed.

However, I do believe that in this process we will find and build communities in which these alternative practices and systems will be held and that is how the real change will happen.

Just to end are there any photographers, writers, artists you feel our readers should check out?

So, so many! My entire feed on social media is filled with incredible individuals who are paving the way when it comes to this work! I’ll list a few:

@mikaelaloach @toritsui_ @eliestories @ajabarba

@xiyebeara @ayisha_sid @daniellesams @helenagualinga @arti.speaks @browngirl_green @queerbrownvegan

If you would like to find out more about Talia’s work and find some wonderful sources related to what has been discussed in this interview, check out her Instagram: @taliatakingpics and her website: https://linktr.ee/taltakingpics as well as the above accounts for more on intersectionality within our environmentalism.

PolicyViridis Magazine21 October 2020Activism, Climate activism, Youth Activism, Talia Woodin