Looking at pictures or images can allow one to look deeply into the artist or photographer and see what they were trying to captivate and convey. Andrew Biraj took a picture of a young child jumping across two piles of trash, seemingly having an infinite amount of fun. The title of this work is “From toxic tanneries to luxury leathers”, which shows that the image is depicting some type of factory that produces leather. The photograph shows the struggles of third world countries and the ways that happiness is achieved.  

To begin, the young child is what stands out the most due to his positioning in the middle of the photograph. The child is very intriguing because he seems to be famished; he also is seemingly having a ton of fun playing in the trash from the tannery. Take notice that the child is not well fed because when looking closely, his ribs are able to be seen. Judging by the shape of the child and the area around him, it is evident that the area is struggling to keep up with the fast changing world. The child also has minimal clothing on, because it appears he only has shorts, or something covering his waist and upper thighs. The child, on the other hand, seems to have made the most of his situation in the world and is fully enjoying jumping across piles of trash. One can also observe that there are still massive amounts of trash in the lower background of the area that is in focus. 

Next, the area that the photograph was taken in seems to be the outskirts of a poor city or town. Faded away in the background buildings and some type of road on a bridge are seen, showing that there is a decent amount of traffic and people living there. The buildings do not seem to be in the best condition, which leans toward the area being in a third world country. The buildings are also somewhat tall, which is associated with cities and major areas. The buildings in the background signify that they are not important to the child’s happiness, due to the fact that they are faded and not in the immediate. It also gives us an idea of how the city is, because the child must come all the way to the slums and dumps in order to be safe and enjoy life. 

Moreover, the trash and smoke themselves provides an explanation of how the area is and how it’s treated. The black smoke is a symbol of pollution from either a factory or some type of machinery that is used by the city in order to make revenue. The air is filled with the black smoke, signifying just how bad it actually is. The air quality makes it hard to see what is in the background of the photograph. The trash is also another worrying idea that the country must deal with. There is trash for a while in the background, stacking up just as high as the pile the child is on. Granted, the child enjoys playing on this, but the buildup of trash is terrible for the country and environment, making it tougher to live in the area. This provides a sense that the country is struggling to stay clean and dated. 

Most importantly, there appears to be a pipe coming out of the trash pile, which leads to a storm drain in the background where all the other trash gets stored. This shows the uncleanliness of the area and provides an explanation as to why it is so dirty and polluted. The storm drain could be used to provide water or for some other practical use but instead garbage is dumped into it at alarming rates due to the factory. 

All-in-all, looking at this photograph really provides the viewer with a sense of the struggles and the slight sliver of hope experienced by those in the region. Andrew Biraj is able to captivate the issues of a country while also showing the positives to it as well. Biraj uses the positioning of himself and the child to convey all the ideas that he is trying to show to the world. 
