Raskols (also titled Raskols: The Gangs of Papua New Guinea) was photographed by Stephen Dupont in Port Moresby's Kaugere settlement in 2004, portraying members of the Kips Kaboni gang amid urban poverty, violence, and social instability.
The title derives from "raskol," a Tok Pisin adaptation of the English word "rascal." Once associated with petty vandalism, the term came to describe organized criminal groups involved in robbery, carjacking, and territorial conflict. Dupont situates these gangs within Port Moresby's unemployment, weak public institutions, and rapid urbanization. The project examines how young men respond to the erosion of traditional Melanesian structures while adopting elements of global popular culture. Their clothing and music refer to American gang imagery, yet their handmade firearms recall the craft and symbolic force of older tribal weapons. This combination frames gang identity as both a product of cultural disruption and a strategy for survival, protection, and belonging.
Dupont gained access to the Kips Kaboni, also known as the Scar Devils or Red Devils, during intercommunal conflict in Kaugere. Inside a gang safe house, he established a temporary outdoor studio and photographed members standing or sitting directly before the camera. The black-and-white portraits use frontal compositions, natural late-afternoon light, and a controlled interior setting that isolates the subjects from the outside environment. The restricted nature of the space reinforces the sense of tension and exclusivity surrounding the encounter. The subjects' fixed gazes, scars, gestures, clothing, and weapons produce an atmosphere of vigilance, self-presentation, and uncertainty.
The photographs were made with a reconditioned Polaroid Land Camera and Type 665 positive-negative film. Each exposure produced an instant print, which Dupont gave to the sitter, and a reusable negative, which he retained. This exchange introduced an element of collaboration into a documentary situation shaped by unequal access and risk. Scratches, chemical streaks, uneven borders, and emulsion marks were preserved in the finished prints, emphasizing the physical processes of field photography rather than concealing them.
Raskols circulated through exhibitions, photography festivals, and publications, including a large handmade concertina book with etched stainless-steel covers and a trade edition published by powerHouse Books in 2012. The series was exhibited at the Australian Centre for Photography in Sydney in 2005 and subsequently appeared at the Noorderlicht and Pingyao festivals, as well as Photoville and the Athens Photo Festival.
