Social Justice Art

Lisa Kristine is an American humanitarian photographer, activist and speaker that captures various social issues such as modern slavery in more than 100 countries. This photograph represents slavery in Ghana with the caption; “Having just crawled out of an illegal gold mind after 48 hours, this enslaved young man rests for a few moments.” Before even reading the caption, you can see that this young man is dirty, sweaty and tired. He looks as if he’s been working for days under very cruel conditions with no breaks or necessities such as water or food. His hand is a grayish blue color that looks as if it’s stained. His eyes are piercing, yet strong which tells a story. He represents the millions of young men who are forced into slavery at a young age. The caption indicates just how inhumane this treatment is of these young men in Ghana. The way the man looks reinforces what the caption says. Kristine wants the world to see what is going on in these distant countries and she is effective in communicating its message. She wants the world to stop for a second and feel what this man’s life is like just for a moment. She allows the viewer to do this by how intimate and powerful the photograph is due to the young man’s facial expression, stance, and composition of the photograph. His face and hand are in complete focus while the rest of his body and background is a little blurry. His presence is felt in the photograph by the way he is looking directly at the viewer with no other expression as if it is just him and the viewer. She documents the unbearable harsh reality of modern day slavery through this collection of miners in the Congo.