Lorenzo Tugnoli: the News’ Margins
Photographer Lorenzo Tugnoli documented Afghanistan through years of transition (2019-2023), from the peace negotiations to the U.S. withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power. His book ‘It Can Never Be The Same’ gathers images at the edges of these headline events.
A contract photographer for The Washington Post, Tugnoli was accustomed to covering the immediacy of breaking news. For this book, created in collaboration with researcher Francesca Recchia, he selected photographs that step away from conventional reportage — images that resist clear chronology, glimpses of daily life, and aerial views that recall how foreign powers have long observed Afghanistan from above, detached from life on the ground.
Kabul, Afghanistan March 2020 © Lorenzo Tugnoli Onlookers observe the site of an ISIS attack that resulted in thirty-two deaths and more than eighty wounded in a Shia neighbourhood on 6 March 2020. The attack came just days after the signing of a peace deal between the US and the Taliban.
Lashkar Gah, Afghanistan, May 2021 © Lorenzo Tugnoli A view of the mountains from a military plane travelling from Lashkar Gah to Kandahar airport. At the time, the Afghan Army was struggling to contain the Taliban advance toward the main urban centre.
Kabul, Afghanistan October 2023 © Lorenzo Tugnoli The area of lake Qargha, outside of Kabul, is a popular tourist destination for families during the weekend. The Taliban banned men and women from visiting amusement parks on the same day and, in some parts of the country, from dining out together.
“As I worked in Afghanistan for more than a decade, my photographs have contributed to its representation (…) With time, I have become more aware of the power and the limits of this representation, I have started reflecting on my role and position in this system and began questioning the depth of my understanding of the facts.”
Sangin, Afghanistan June 2022 © Lorenzo Tugnoli Patients and family members crowd the entrance of Sangin’s clinic. The clinic is housed in a dilapidated building whose construction was never completed. Sangin is a small town in Helmand province, in the south of the country, and was the scene of heavy fighting during the war.
Wardak, Afghanistan October 2021 © Lorenzo Tugnoli Zalmay Adil, 16-years-old, collects money for the local madrasa along Highway 1 near his native village of Andar. Once the madrassa taught the youth about jihad, or holy war, and prepared them ideologically to join the Taliban and fight American forces and their Afghan allies.
Herat, Afghanistan November 2022 © Lorenzo Tugnoli A woman takes part in a land inheritance dispute against her brother in a Taliban court in Herat. Since the establishment of the Emirate of Afghanistan, citizens have brought old cases to Taliban courts, which they consider less corrupt and more accessible.
The book “It Can Never Be The Same” is published by GOST and available at the price of £45.00
