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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Twenty Eight: Using symbols and metaphors to express meaning > Vanquished, Jaipur, India, 2008
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22-MAR-2008

Vanquished, Jaipur, India, 2008

The specter of poverty, homelessness, disease, and death hangs over every city in India. I saw it at close hand twenty years ago, and saw it again in 2008. These men were lying near the gutter just outside of our hotel. I photographed them asleep in the dust of a Jaipur street and converted the color image to black and white, making the scene appear as grim as it really was. They do not see the naked child, a member of their extended family, brandishing a pair of crossed sticks over their exhausted bodies. It almost seemed as if the child had conquered these men. I would like to think that this child might someday have a better shot at life, a chance to live in a way that has so far eluded these adult members of his family. In that way, perhaps, he may yet triumph.

Leica V-Lux 1
1/200s f/4.5 at 72.1mm iso100 full exif

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Phil Douglis04-May-2008 20:06
I am glad that you made this point, Tim. By "capturing" the distress of others, many photographers try for a fast and easy emotional ploy, by photographing the poor, the homeless, the lost souls of cities everywhere. You and I have always respected the privacy of the unfortunate. In this image, I tried to take a more positive view of the homeless here in India. I tried to go beyond the cliche of showing the unfortunate to the fortunate. Instead, I saw the child standing over the anonymous bodies here as a symbol of hope for another generation. Thanks for noting this.
Tim May04-May-2008 18:56
The crossed swords take this image beyond a representation of the despair. You and I both hold off posting the images we see of grim poverty and ugly environmental situations. It seems to me to be part of a respect for the people and the culture. Here, though, we see symbolic hope. I do try to show hope in the images I post. As, I believe, do you.
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