Exposure: Portrait Of A Corporate Crime

Raghu Rai, Indian, born 1942

Exposure: Portrait Of A Corporate Crime, 2002 

In this photograph by Raghu Rai, protesters are gathered outside the walls of the abandoned United Carbide factory. These protests are demanding that medical research be established to study toxic contamination and human health in the area. With more medical research, people who have been negatively affected by the toxic gas released during the Bhopal disaster can hopefully be treated. They are gathered near The Statue of Mother & Child created through a collaboration between Ruth Waterman and Bhopal survivors. The sign with the web on it discusses a recent study performed by the Indian Council of Medical Research. The council studied the results of children born to women and daughters that were exposed to methyl isocyanate, but later refused to release the results of this study. Through this picture Rai captured the battle people are still fighting to achieve environmental justice for those affected in Bhopal. Label by Olivia Falb

Burial of an Unknown Child

Raghu Rai, Indian, born 1942

Burial of an Unknown Child, 1984

Arriving in Bhopal on the morning of December 4th, 1984, Raghu Rai witnessed and photographed the aftermath of the Bhopal gas tragedy, which killed at least 4,000 people and affected the lives of more than 100,000. Children made up a large number of the fatalities and injuries, especially because the poisonous gas drifted close to the ground. Rai photographed the burial of this unidentified child; her eyes are cloudy and swollen due to her exposure to the gas. The child’s family was never identified, but her image has become an icon for the disaster. Label by Sarah Roberts

Children Bathing in what Bhopal Residents call the Poison Pond near the Union Carbide Plant

Ruth Freson, American

Children Bathing in what Bhopal Residents call the Poison Pond near the Union Carbide Plant, 2004

The New York Times published this article in 2004 more than 20 years after the disaster that took place in Bhopal. The toxicity and degradation that impacted the area has yet to dissipate. The children playing in the “Poison Pond” photographed above are examples of the victims of not only the gas tragedy but of corporate war against disadvantageous communities. The images placed in this article are mainly of a new generation of the persons in Bhopal, but the tragedy still wreaks havoc for their communities. Hundreds of thousands of persons claim to have been injured or sick from the event. Generations later children are forced to play in a pond that has been ruined by corporate greed. The DOW chemical company likely never anticipated this tragedy from occurring, however, they did nothing to prevent it and certainly did not think of the affects their carelessness may have on the community. The juxtaposition of the children playing against the apocalyptic backdrop of the photo adds shock value to the unimaginable events that took place almost four decades ago. Label by Annabel Bentley

Untitled

Saurabh Das, Indian, born 1972

Untitled, 2009

Saurabh Das uses photography to document the ongoing suffering of the Bhopal people following the deadly methyl isocyanate leak from the Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical) factory in 1984. In its wake, the toxic gas leak was fatal to thousands and spread about fifteen miles around the plant. Even though the factory was deserted and cleaned of waste, the Bhopal people are still struggling to survive. There are second and third generation children of survivors who are being born with disabilities. This portrait is of a young girl who is dependent on her caregivers to sustain her life. Her physical appearance including her sunken eyes and bony cheekbones displays the ongoing legacy of the Bhopal incident. Das arranges the photo upside down so the girl’s eyes peer despairingly into the camera, creating feelings of unease. Label by Elsa Rall