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Your support makes all the difference."Warning: this magazine contains no words," runs the statement on the cover of the latest edition of Colors. You, the curious reader, hesitate for a moment, wondering in what way you are expected to be shocked. Does this herald the end of the word as we know it? Or is this some bizarre, misguided plea on behalf of that poor endangered species, the image?
You "read" on. A picture of the universe. Flick. A picture of the Earth. Flick. Then, page after page of glossy colour photos recording all manner of things under the sun: wildlife, houses, parts of the anatomy, a strip of eyes, politicos, genes, amputees, foodstuffs (anything so long as you don't name it). It quickly dawns on you that this is not some arbitrary assortment of left-overs from the National Geographic, but that there is a structural principle at work. By juxtaposing the same subject in different cultural contexts (a fat man smoking a fat cigar above two Malaysian boys taking a drag, say) you are invited to draw parallels between seemingly unrelated ways of life. Because the contrasts are often extreme, between the first and third world, polluted and unsullied landscapes, man and beast, the sequence also pushes you towards extrapolating a more political commentary.
And then, as if the game of spot la difference (rows of genitalia of every race, age, shape and size) has not yet convinced you of the gravity of the enterprise, those responsible actually spell it out for you bi- lingually on page 86 in 442 WORDS (83 more if you're French). "Words tell us what to see," they explain. "By taking words away we put you in the position of a tourist who can't speak the language." We need to learn to filter bias from stand-alone images as well as captions, they add. All the more confusing, then, that you are given the captions at the back. The contradiction is explained on closer inspection of the magazine which reveals that it is owned by the Benetton Group. Benetton - the same clothing company whose ads throw up shocking, symbolic images, each usefully labelled with a "United Colors of..." caption. The magazine is certainly eye-catching. But then so is a TV screen showing MTV in a pub late at night. Rapid Gaia- related images wafting over the ephemeral punters. How deep, you think, as the room starts to spin.
DOMINIC CAVENDISH
'Colors 13', now available in more than 80 countries, pounds 2
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