World poverty has become a reality that has been ignored for some time. This picture that was taken in São Paulo, Brazil requires the world to face the ever growing gap between rich and poor in the face, and acknowledge it. The great imbalance that exists in this picture reveals a deeper meaning of world poverty and the relationship between the rich and the poor. Not only does the makeup and design of this photo highlight the stark contrast between rich and poor and emphasizes it as a worldwide problem, but the stories and relationships this photo evoke creates a wider sense of poverty that affects not only the poor, but even the top 1% living in luxury. 

This picture’s visual makeup adds to its intensity. Because the image is practically split right in half, there is a feeling of balance. At the same time, there is a sense of imbalance. The balance that exists in this photo is obvious. The photo is split almost completely in half. This balance exists because both sides of this picture have people living and existing in them. Both of these sides exist together, even though they are different worlds. The balance in this photo does not reflect the truth that only the top 1% are living the life on the right, while there is a large majority of the world that is facing poverty. The placement of the rich and poor communities being right next to each other creates a hope that these two divided sides can coexist. There is imbalance that exists in this photo as well. The right side is more vertically advanced than the left. The right has tall hotels and even pools on each balcony that stick out. The tall white buildings contrast the short, small huts on the left. The right side also pokes out into the left, almost being showy. Just like a rich person, the hotels stick out and almost show off to those who are considered “lesser” than them. This photo mimics this showy “sticking out” by those who have money, little by little, taking away from those who have less than them. There is a hint in this picture that the rich will take over and the problem of poverty will be overshadowed by the overpowering greed and wealth in the world. 

The colors and shapes in this picture also add to its purpose and message. The “imbalance” in this picture is due to the colors and shapes. The shapes on the left side are so simple, while the shapes on the right are different and contrasting. The colors on the right are limited while the right side has many colors and shades. The right side is even showy because of the colors. The right side reflects expensive looking clean white paint and sparkling pools, while the left has unpainted, exposed red brick and dirty grey roofs. Even the small looking people on the right add to the imbalance because there are no people visible on the right side. The right side has greys and faded oranges that have a somber connotation about them. Although there is few variety and faded colors on the left side, there are people walking around that create life and happiness. The right side has all the showy bright colors, the tennis courts, the pools, and the rooftop decks, but there are no people visible. The life that those people add to the right side creates more brightness than the bright colors on the left. 

The stories that you can imagine from this striking image create a sense that not only does poverty affect those who are poor, but those who are rich as well. Although there is a wall between them, there is a closeness and there is an undoubtable relationship between these two communities. There is an aliveness on the right side, people are walking around, but you don’t see any people on the right. The people living on the right would deny that they have any connection to the people on the right, but the placement of this wall is a reminder how similar and close these two communities are. The community on the right may have a small amount of money, but their happiness could be rich, the community on the right have a lot of money but may have low happiness, because money does not mean happiness. The left community has houses, a neighborhood of people who have probably been there for years which gives the community a closeness about it that the right side will never have. The residents on the right are staying in that hotel for many a couple nights, it is not their home. The contrast in this photo highlights how close those people living in luxury are to being so poor in different ways. The rich don’t always have happiness, and the poor don’t always face struggle. The contradictions in this picture touch on the contradictions that exist among these communities. 

Not only does the visual shapes, colors and design of this photo create the overall meaning, but the stories and relationships we understand from this photo reveals a deeper meaning for the relationship between rich and poor. The undeniable connection between these two sides is contrasted by their differences. The bright colors on the right side may look nice, but they will never compare to the stories and deep relationship on the left. This photo forces us to think about world poverty. The wall in between these two sides represents the attitude towards world poverty that so many people have, they deny it and pretend they do not see it as a problem. The wall was put there to block out the left side from the pristine white walls and pools on the right. From this view, the wall does not block out the poverty that exists, it is exposed and highlighted. This is the view that people need to see and understand the problem of world poverty. 