They are haunting photographs – a baby being buried after the Bhopal gas tragedy, a Vietnamese child fleeing the agony of a napalm attack, or the washed-up corpse of a young boy on a Turkish Libyan beach. A powerful photograph has often effected a change in government policy that no amount of previous opposition, petitioning or agitating could do. Similarly, politicians fear cartoons more than editorials. But images are not just political, they can be deeply emotional too, and can help us connect with a moment, or a feeling in a way that words would simply be inadequate. Viewers can emotionally connect as strongly with a photograph of a landscape as with a painting. Text can, sometimes, be superfluous.
Panelists : Appupen, Binaifer Bharucha, Shakti Maira
Chair : Peter Griffin