Main description

The photo of Sir Bob Jones responding to an anti-tour demonstration in Auckland 1981 captures a pivotal moment in New Zealand’s history. By analysing the imagery and its connection to the broader historical context at the beginning of the 1980s, we can see a multilayered picture going beyond this brief snapshot. In this article, I carry out a semiotic analysis of the photo, which starts with a description of the visible attributes and the aesthetic dimension. Different micro-aspects of the photo will be described and connected. After considering aspects that are immediately visible, I extend my inquiry to subtleties hidden in the deeper layers of the photo. The analysis include the subject, the setting, the surroundings and the people involved. It is also beneficial to learn about the story behind the photo, including the motivations of the photographer and the dissemination of the photo.