British photojournalist and educator Paul Lowe has been identified as the victim of a fatal stabbing in the San Gabriel Mountains near Los Angeles last weekend. The award-winning photographer, who was 60 years old, was known for his impactful images of historic world events and conflicts.
On Tuesday, October 15, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed one count of murder against the photographer’s 19-year-old son Emir Abadzic Lowe, whom authorities detained shortly after the stabbing a few miles away after he had gotten into a traffic collision.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by the sudden death of Paul Lowe, professor of Conflict, Peace and the Image at London College of Communication, University of the Arts London,” read a statement published by the school yeserday.
Among the most notable events captured by Lowe’s camera were the Siege of Sarajevo during the collapse of 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 had been struggling with mental health issues including psychosis for the past year. He recently took a trip to the United States, but when he didn’t return home for over two months, his father flew out to California out of concern.
While the two were driving through the mountains, they stopped at a viewpoint on Mount Baldy Road when the incident happened.
“As a parent we felt that we could help him,” Amra said. “We never would expect this kind of outcome.”
A consultant to the World Press Photo foundation, Lowe’s photojournalism has appeared in publications including Time, Life, Newsweek, and the Independent. For over two decades, he taught courses on the photographic documentation in conflict at the University of the Arts (UAL) London in its Photojournalism and Documentary Photography Master’s program, which he helped develop. He was represented by the London-based photo agency Panos Pictures.
“Paul’s work across his career made a ground-breaking impact in the representation of war and conflict and latterly in the complex cultural negotiations involved in peace and reconciliation work,” the statement from UAL said, noting that he “leaves an incredible legacy as an award-winning photographer, author, critic and, not least, as a truly compassionate educator.”
Most recently, Lowe’s work was exhibited at Albania’s Gallery of Contemporary Art Tirana in the group show Visual Poetry on Social Photography, which ran from September 3 to October 10. Lowe traveled to the show for the exhibition’s inauguration, the gallery said in an Instagram post expressing sadness over the news of his untimely death.
Hyperallergic has contacted UAL, Gallery of Contemporary Art Tirana, and Panos Pictures for comment.
