"Censorship is often used to silence marginalized voices", says Rankin

(Image credit: Rankin)

A new online community project has been launched by the geniuses at RANKIN CREATIVE – an offshoot agency from the world-renowned British photographer Ranin – to challenge unfair censorship on online platforms.

Called THE UNSEEN, the project will be open to anyone who has experienced content or account removal, promotion/ad ban or shadow banning, and look to showcase their work to audiences.

“Censorship is a necessary tool to prevent fake news, protect children and more. But it is often used inadvertently to silence marginalized voices,” said Creative Founder & Photographer, Rankin. The aim is that this project will strike up a positive debate around the topic of censorship, to see how attitudes and working practices might change towards it in the future.

The statistics of those who have joined the unseen community highlight the diverse reasons that marginalized people feel they are being censored online. Female body and sexism came in at at 29.6%, with experiences of homophobia at 10%.

Although the project is in the early stages, it has already generated a big buzz, with hundreds of participants globally sharing their stories and images. from all over the world sharing their stories and joining the discussion. “We’ve had an incredible response so far, and we’re just getting started,” says Rankin. “This is an important issue, and those affected deserve to have a voice in the policies that affect them on the platforms they love and build their businesses on.”

There will be a public gallery show to launch the project at the Digital-first Quantus Gallery in Shoreditch, London. The varied exhibition will include posts and stories submitted by entrants, as well as portraits that have been captured by Rankin that have been turned interactive by an experiential design team Media.Monks.

“We wanted to put the viewer back in control, and subvert the relationship we have with the images we see online, so working with Media.Monks was ideal. I also think it’s important to show how emerging technologies like 8th Wall can be used positively, to make things fairer,” adds Rankin, who is well known for being a disrupter in the art and photography world.

The UNSEEN website will launch on the June 15 at 7pm and be open to the public from the 16 - 24 June at Quantus Gallery 11-29 Fashion Street, London, E1 6PX.

Lauren is a writer, reviewer, and photographer with ten years of experience in the camera industry. She's the former Managing Editor of Digital Camera World, and previously served as Editor of Digital Photographer magazine, Technique editor for PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, and Deputy Editor of our sister publication, Digital Camera Magazine. An experienced journalist and freelance photographer, Lauren also has bylines at Tech Radar, Space.com, Canon Europe, PCGamesN, T3, Stuff, and British Airways' in-flight magazine. When she's not testing gear for DCW, she's probably in the kitchen testing yet another new curry recipe or walking in the Cotswolds with her Flat-coated Retriever.

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