This photo reveals how toxicity has deeply penetrated not just the soil, water, and food supply of Turkey (and other nations), but the justice system as well. Without knowing anything about the case aside from what the caption has told me, I am outraged at the injustice but hopeful. The photo inspires hope in the future of the struggle against toxicity--as the author suggests, smiling under these circumstances is a radical act of optimism.
I don't think it would be appropriate to alter the image itself, as the ethnographer is not the photographer. Maybe to show some context, a photo of the image within its publication could be added.
The photo was published in a newspaper and appears to be a snapshot of a team of academics or activists in a courthouse. It was found by the ethnographer. Its composition is of a group photo, landscape orientation, and not professionally photographed. It has a snapshot feel, not everyone is looking at the camera, and some people are craning their necks to be seen. It seems that not much attention was paid to composition or aesthetic, which is not a critique, but a rather important clue as to the nature of the circumstances in which the photo was taken.
I think I'd like to know more about the nature of the publication the photo appears in. Contextualizing the photo will help me to understand its message. Who is the intended audience of this newspaper? And who actually reads it, intended audience or not? Who writes for and publishes this newspaper?
This image places hope and solidarity in the center of a struggle against toxicity. The subjects are standing, smiling, touching eachother, some have arms crossed. They form a wall, a semi-circle, a confrontation, but appear welcoming because of their expressions. It seems that the message of this photo is less to inform readers of the article about details of the incident and is more to reassure. If you are reading this publication, you are not alone. Here are more than two dozen people, smiling in the face of encroaching toxicity, who are on your side.