In this photo, a young boy from Mumbai, India can be seen staring into the camera with a red substance (paint, powder, etc.) covering the entire upper part of his body. Though not all of his body is shown, from what the audience can see the boy seems to be malnourished. Another boy stands behind him in similar conditions, only he’s not in focus and a dark shadow is cast over his face making him unrecognizable (which is a stark contrast from the main boy staring directly into the lens). There’s also some red spattering on one of the walls in the background that is reminiscent of bloody finger marks on a wall – all of these elements together create a somewhat haunting image. I chose this photo as the final image for my archive because I think it’s one of McCurry’s most eye-catching pieces, I think it really tells a story the more you look at it. Also, once again red was used as a tool to emphasize the sadness in the boy’s eyes and was once again contrasted with the green of the walls behind the boys, also making the red splatter brighter. Overall, this shows the dangers/consequences of war and conflict on innocent citizens of the area.
