This visualization advances ethnographic insight by bringing together questions of the materiality of post-coloniality with questions of air toxicity impacted by significant cultural events such as Diwali. It raises important considerations about ‘non-molecular’ toxics and the sentiment that they are difficult to trace, as they are always on the move.
The caption can be elaborated to include more specific information about how the author is tying colonialism to a discussion of PM 2.5, as this seems to be an important part of why they chose this image.
This is a found image of an installation at the Ganga Ram hospital in Delhi, created by Lung Care Foundation. Its composition is notable for showing the installation before and after Diwali fireworks, and for placing the images on a background which shows the haze of the local atmosphere during this time.
This image can be enriched by centering the left pair of lungs so it is cropped slightly more symmetrically to the ones on the right, as this will make it even more apparent to the viewer that both images are of the same pair of lungs. While the link to the time lapse video is very powerful, a second possibility would be to include other time points, such as after two weeks, or a month, in order to show the gradual blackening over time. Other options might be to include local readings of PM 2.5, thereby contrasting the visual with the “science” of air toxicity.
This visualization parallels how PM 2.5 is trapped in the semi-permeability of a HEPA filter to the porosity of the lung organs, as well as the rest of bodily tissues. By extracting the lung from the body, its significance for human life is foregrounded without markers of race, class or gender, which creates a compelling contrast to other residues of colonial rule.
The image is powerful, but it is the caption which helps to extend its ethnographic insight, relating to toxic histories of colonialism as well as issues of environmental activism and justice. The image helps to convey "the grappling with toxicity that is not molecular," materializing Pm2.5 in its connection with the body.
I think the toxicities of colonial/postcolonialism can be drawn out more in how they relate to the message you are trying to convey through the use of this image. Perhaps also elaborate more on what PM2.5 is and its effects.
This is a found image that was retreived from a right-wing media outlet. What is notable is that it helps to convey the layers of toxicities the author is drawing out beyond the literal relation to the body.
I think that the image itself is powerful and does invoke an understanding of air polution and its effects.
The image and captions convey the literal toxicity of PM2.5 and its effects on the body. The use of an image with a colonial era monument in the backdrop further complicates the image's representation of toxicity.
