Poet and art historian Kelly Grover has selected the best pictures of the year. The images include a girl peeking out of her room in Gaza and the attack on Capitol Hill in the United States. This report compares these images with historical artifacts.
Metallic Boy, Indonesia, 2021
An eight-year-old boy begs on the streets of Depok, Indonesia. It has a toxic mixture of metallic paint and coking oil on its skin that makes the human body look like a metal sculpture. Aldi's brightness is very impressive in the presence of traffic and vehicles on the road. For many children of Aldi's age, robots are a source of curiosity. The same theme is illustrated by the Scottish artist Eduardo Paulozi in his 1971 painting Wonder Toy. In it, a child is amazed by the magic of his robot toy. In Paulozi's picture, the child and the toy get lost in each other's glow. However, in Aldi's picture it can be seen that a child is lost in this dangerous game due to his habit and circumstances.
Girl, Gaza, May 2021
This is the first time since 2014 that tensions between Israel and the Palestinians have escalated into bloodshed. The Israeli army launched air strikes on Palestinians in response to Hamas rocket fire, which destroyed the house of a girl named Beit Hanoun on May 24. The picture of this girl, looking out of her ruined room, is heartbreaking. One such young woman was photographed by British artist Paula Rego in 2003 to reflect the trauma of the Iraq war. In it, a rabbit is watching from below while his world is also turned upside down. The rabbit is a symbol of innocence in the history of art, but in this painting it is depicted in distress. And in the picture of Gaza, the fear of this girl can be felt.
Tuvalu, November 2021
Simon Coffey, the foreign minister of Tuvalu, stood between Australia and Hawaii in the sea below his knees, wearing a suit and tie, as he addressed a UN conference on climate change in Glasgow. He warned of rising sea levels, which could lead to environmental catastrophe for most countries. And the seriousness of the words reflects the image of history in which it can be seen that entire settlements have come under the waves of the sea. Jan Aslan's painting, dated March 1651, shows how the Dutch coast near Amsterdam was devastated by the waves. Kota Azawa, a German digital artist, created a painting called "The Flood" in 2011 in which it can be seen that high water levels in South America pose a threat to people.
Protesters, Scotland, November 2021
In November, the United Nations hosted a conference on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland. But during this time, a unique protest took place outside the conference. He dramatically spat out oil from his mouth and dropped counterfeit notes. It conveys the message that investors and politicians are slow to cope with climate change.
Garbage Pond, Serbia, 2021
The image of a pond filled with debris in the Lim River near the western Balkan city of Preboi paints a grim picture. This worst case scenario is due to mismanagement in waste management, increase in illegal dumping and floods (which caused garbage to accumulate in one place). It can be compared to a 1948 painting by Cuban artist Tomas Sanchez. They rethink the place near Jerusalem where the crucifixion took place according to the Christian faith.
Capitol Hill Demonstration, USA, January 2021
Pictures of supporters of former US President Donald Trump stormed the Capitol Hill building in Washington, D.C., on January 6. They were protesting against President Biden's election victory. Historically significant images can be seen in the background of one of them, while the police and protesters are facing each other. A similar 18th-century statue (located inside the building) resembles a scene that reflects American colonial history. In the statue, Americans compete with the assailant while one person falls to the ground.
Oxygen Boy, Kenya, 2021
The best pictures of the year 2021 on the theme of environment were announced in November. In one of the winning photos, a boy can be seen getting oxygen from a plant with the help of a mask and a respirator on his face. These ideas are also cited in history. 18th-century portraits of Joseph Wright's "Bird in an Air Pump" and Italian artist Piero Manzoni's 1960s work "Artists Breath" also highlight this theme.
Health Workers, India, October 2021
In October, four nursing staff at a Bangalore hospital took an interesting photo to celebrate the distribution of one billion doses of the corona virus in India. I have weapons that can defeat the enemy. But in this photo, everyone had vaccine vaccines in their hands. In October 2020, similarly, Indian artist Sanjib Basak, with the help of discarded vaccines and other medical equipment, made a six-foot-tall statue in Dargah. The statue presented the hospital's lost medical supplies as a hope for a better tomorrow.
