This work arose as a reaction to the police’s (mis)use of Anti-terror laws (Section 76) to prohibit photographer’s from taking images of them during the G20 summit and subsequent events last year, and the social implications that this law could have.
This work can be seen as a comment on the socio-political change regarding one’s legitimate right to take images of those employed to police our cities. The intent of this work is therefore to show by the means available through digital manipulation, an extreme version of what was originally demanded by the changed anti-terror law.
Editing an image taken from the mass-media at the time of the G20, so that it conforms to the demands made by the police at that time – their presence completely removed, save their horses and shadows, reflects and illustrates that even when no controlling elements can be seen, there is always the shadow of authority….

Shadows of Authority © Arion Gadd 2010
Original image © Digby Oldridge, 2009.