Adriana Loureiro Fernandez, Venezuelan
Luis Javier, 9, and Luis David, 8, playing on the shores of Lake Maracaibo, which along with oil, has also become filled with algae, 2023
In Venezuela, two children peer over into Lake Maracaibo, a water source infiltrated by pollutive oils and dense algal material. This scene is nothing out of the ordinary for Venezuelan citizens, for their shores are plagued by gas flares and oil spills. In order to survive, children bathe in rotting sea life waters, and source food from these hazardous zones as well. This story comes across successfully due to the photographer’s compositional decisions. Here, we see the children are on a diagonal ledge which drawers the viewers focus down into the toxic water. Pure, youthful life is tarnished by murky man-made waters. This “dirtied” life extends both to the children and the naturalistic elements. Label by Grace Cohen