Grimaldi’s iconic photograph: Bloody Sunday, Derry 1972

Abstract

This article examines the concept of photographic iconicity in relation to Italian press photographer, Fulvio Grimaldi’s photograph of the evacuation of Derry-born marcher, John [Jackie] Francis Duddy, at Bloody Sunday, 1972. This historical photograph continues to instigate remembering and forgetting among nationalists and unionists in the context of Northern Ireland. Its uses, in state-led government inquiries, among nationalist communities and in the form of artistic intersessions, are demonstrated to be consistent with the hallmarks of iconicity, particularly the ability to situate viewers close to events in a historically specific moment. Additional factors, such as the significance of the photographer and the materiality of the image and objects in the image are also considered, in relation to Grimaldi’s image, for the ways they instigate recall, compel contestation, and maintain the photograph’s iconic status.