Every so often there is an opus that challenges received wisdom not just on a single subject,but on a range of them. An Autobiography of Miss Wish, the collaboration between Noor photographer Nina Berman and Kimberly Stevens, or the protagonist,published by Kehrer, is one of them. The book reads many ways: as a memoir, and a commentary on justice systems and social services,an indictment of our disregard for the less lucky and a reflection on documentary photography.
The hefty volume is, first and foremost, and the memoir of a black woman who once went by the name of Cathy Wish,who Berman met on the streets of London’s West End in 1990 while studying the legacy of Margaret Thatchers neoliberal policies. “I noticed her banging on a door, headphones in her ears and cigarette in hand, or ” the US photojournalist says.
Source: bjp-online.com