Thinking about photographs showing two sides to a place I immediately remembered the preparation for the world cup in Rio, Brazil. I saw and heard that many favellas were being moved or destroyed. These favellas were full of life and people. However when football comes to town they must show the right front to the cameras of TV.

In the photo above we are shown the colour from one of Rios favellas. These places team with life and all aspects of society are evident. They even have their own judicial system that helps to bring cohesion and order to the place. I would have loved to see these places as a backdrop to the world cup. The powers that be thought differently.

Compare the second shot this shows a luxury apartment built on the site of one of the removed favellas. However when you look at this luxury consider how many family homes were removed to build this one luxury dwelling. The misery must have been immense.

The next world cup is in Qatar and the stadia are being built in the deserts so no people need to be moved. Good news however it is interesting to look online whilst completing this research to read of the suffering of the people in the construction workers villages. There are many reports of poor and dangerous conditions however there are photos of the construction of stadiums but very few of the workers dwellings.

Not wanting to restrict my research to faraway places and football I looked at my home town of Leeds I found photos of the area of Holbeck where my great grandparents lived. The area is being demolished to make way for better dwellings for families.

The houses my family brought up four children in are being replaced with houses like the ones in the photo below. It is interesting to see the footprint of one dwelling in the new houses is much larger than the footprint of the older dwellings much like the favellas of Rio. Plus the streets are wider due to the traffic. I wonder how the community will develop in these new areas.

Then looking for a photograph which shows both the affluent and the deprived areas in one exposure i found the following shot. It shows people’s homes next to a rail track under an overpass in Bangkok Thailand. Contrasting the position of the wealthy and the less well off.

A second one shows a similar scene in Mumbai India, The wealth needs to be shared a little more equally across society in these places. India after all is pursuing putting a man the moon on which costs billions of pounds. It may be a better use of resources to help these people into better homes.

Both of these photos are of Asian cities I think i need to ensure I show a balanced picture the photo below is in Brooklyn New York. It is amazing that within four miles of Manhattan we can find such squalor. This poverty is everywhere seldom talked about in the media.

When asked to look at these kind of photographs we can find them anywhere. We must be careful not to overlook the state of the whole planet poverty is everywhere across all creed on the planet.

Thinking about two photographers who showed this kind of shot in their work I thought of Vivian Maier (http://https//:www.vivianmaier.com) and Eugene Atget (http://https//www.atgetphotography.com) . Vivian Maier took photos whilst she wandered around New York. Her work was unknown until recently and was found and has been received with great interest. She shows all aspects of New York and didn’t shy away from showing the full spectrum of life from the wealthy and famous such as Kirk Douglas to buildings falling down and people suffering in the streets. Below are six of her photos that show her skills in showing New York in all its “glory”.

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Eugene Atget recorded scenes that at first glance seem mundane. He captured them to help theatre set painters complete their work. However in capturing these photos he also captured the sumptuous areas of Paris and the squalid back streets in equal measure. He also took many photos of the characters he came across in the street again thinking they could be sold to theatres or maybe used as postcards. Both sets show the wealthy and the poor which helps put them into place when we look now.

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In creating these images we also need to be careful that we don’t dilute the suffering of the people depicted. “The more images of violence we see—of war; of victims of hunger or famine; or other injustices—the more immune to them we become”. As Susan Sontag said in her book “Susan Sontag On Photography” (Sontag, 1973 Book).

References

AAP. “Bangladeshi Man Who Worked on 2022 World Cup Stadiums in Qatar Suing FIFA for Unfair Treatment,” n.d. https://www.foxsports.com.au/football/world-cup/bangladeshi-man-who-worked-on-2022-world-cup-stadiums-in-qatar-suing-fifa-for-unfair-treatment/news-story/6cf79d62bae0b6fd71ff199035db5c74.

Atget, Eugene. “Photography.” Atget Photography, 2019. http://Https//www.atgetphotography.com.

Capt Sam. “MUMBAI AIRPORT SLUMS: THE REASONS WHY THEY EXIST!” samarthsingh.com, 2018. http://www.samarthsingh.com/mumbai-city-airport-slums-dharavi-why.

Maiar, Vivian. “Portfolio Street.” Vivian Mayar, 2019. http://Https//:www.vivianmaier.com.

Sontag, Susan. Susan Sontag on Photography. New York: Penguin, 1973.

Unknown. Favella Rio de Janeiro. n.d. Digital Colour Photograph. Favela Hotel Rio. ———.

“New York City Housing.” Council. Improving Lives, n.d. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/nycha/index.page. ———.

“Old Photos of Leeds.” Education. Old Photos of Leeds, n.d. www.leodis.net. ———.

“Rich and Poor Housing Thailand.” Council. Bangkok Housing, n.d. http:\www.bankokcfh.com.