Dundee suicide notes exhibition condemned

Lecturer denies photographs will encourage people to kill themselves

 Controversy surrounded a photographic exhibition of suicide spots across Scotland that opened in Dundee at the weekend.

The part-time lecturer who produced the work has been accused of promoting suicide by the local branch of the Samaritans charity.

Philip Braham’s Suicide Notes collection features black-and-white photographs of the spots accompanied by the names, dates and background of each suicide that took place there.

The exhibition is part of the Public Image event which opened at the Cooper Gallery in the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design on Saturday. It is set to run until March 6.

Mr Braham, who lectures at the college, defended his work after it had come under fire from Dundee Samaritans’ chairman David Robinson.

Mr Robinson said: “Copycats do happen. It might just encourage people with suicidal thoughts in their mind to think that is a way they can do it, moving them a step further along the road.

“Someone who is not feeling that well and who has suicidal thoughts may go along to the exhibition, see a site and think, ‘that’s how I could kill myself’.”

Several spots across the country feature in the exhibition, including the Folly on Kinnoull Hill, Perth; the woodland nearby and the eroded rocks at the falls of Bruar, Perthshire; the forest entrance at Bridge of Orchy, Argyll; Neptune’s Ladder, Bannavie, near Fort William; and the River Lossie at Elgin.

The disused quarry on Balmashanner Hill, Forfar, and the Tay Bridge are also included.

The photographer claimed that he had acquired all of the background on the individual cases from press reports.

Mr Braham said: “I never expected such a knee-jerk reaction but I think rather than looking at the content of the work, some have immediately jumped on the fact that they thought it was glamorising suicide.

“I am aware families may be concerned if they saw or read about this, but I can only say this is supportive and not exploitive. I don’t want to condemn or condone the victims, but to emphasise they are people, and there is a real human story behind the mere reporting of fact.

“This exhibition seeks to memorialise them and record the sadness of the act of suicide.”

Dundee University, which runs the college, defended the exhibition.

A spokesman said: “We fully support artistic freedom while at the same time understanding the sensitivities surrounding this issue.

“We do not feel the content of this exhibition is in any way exploitive or seeking to glamorise a tragic act.”