British photojournalist and teacher Paul Lowe was identified last weekend as the victim of a fatal stabbing in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles. The award-winning photographer, who was 60 years old, was known for his impressive images of historical world events and conflicts.
On Tuesday, October 15, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed one murder charge against the photographer’s 19-year-old son, Emir Abadzic Lowe, who was arrested by authorities shortly after the stabbing several kilometers away after being in a traffic accident.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden death of Paul Lowe, Professor of Conflict, Peace and the Image at the London College of Communication, University of the Arts London,” said a statement released by the school yesterday.
Among the most striking events captured by Lowe’s camera were the Siege of Sarajevo during the collapse of the former Yugoslavia; the toppling of the Berlin Wall; and the release of South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison.
Lowe’s wife, Amra Abadzic Lowe, told the New York Times that their son Emir has struggled with mental health issues, including psychosis, over the past year. He recently took a trip to the United States, but when he did not return home for more than two months, his father flew to California out of concern.
As the two drove through the mountains, they stopped at an overlook on Mount Baldy Road when the incident occurred.
“As a parent, we felt like we could help him,” Amra said. “We never expected these kinds of outcomes.”
An advisor to the World Press Photo foundation, Lowe’s photojournalism has appeared in publications, among others Time, To live, Newsweekand the Independent. For over twenty years he taught courses on photographic documentation in conflict at the University of the Arts (UAL) London in the master’s program Photojournalism and Documentary Photography, which he helped develop. He was represented by the London photo agency Panos Pictures.
“Paul’s work throughout his career has had a groundbreaking impact in the representation of war and conflict and most recently in the complex cultural negotiations involved in peace and reconciliation work,” the UAL statement said, noting that he has “an incredible legacy as an award-winning photographer, author, critic and, last but not least, as a truly compassionate educator.”
Most recently, Lowe’s work was exhibited at the Albanian Gallery of Contemporary Art Tirana during the group exhibition Visual poetry about social photographywhich ran from September 3 to October 10. Lowe traveled to the show for the exhibition’s inauguration, the gallery said in a statement Instagram post in which he expressed his sadness at the news of his untimely death.
Hyperallergic has contacted UAL, Gallery of Contemporary Art Tirana and Panos Pictures for comment.
