In my photography project, I aim to draw more attention to underappreciated individuals in today’s society, such as janitors, school staff, and security guards. I will capture these workers in the monotony of life, out of the eyes of less perceptive individuals, still living unique and rich lives of their own. I will primarily focus on the area around ISB, as the school is barely operational without its staff, so they will be a key highlight in my project. I hope that through my photos, viewers (hopefully ISB students) can appreciate China’s underappreciated staff and become more aware of the effort they put into maintaining our comfortable student lives.

My work is inspired by Lewis Hine, a photographer of the 1800s, whose work highlighted the cruel treatment of industrial workers in factories, construction, railways, and other industries. His work was crucial in exposing the U.S’s use of child labor, and his work was believed to have contributed in the creation of America’s earliest child labor laws. One of his most famous works is “Lunchtime Atop a Skyscraper,” showing construction workers having lunch break on a dangling metal beam in the construction of the RCA building in Manhattan, showing the bravery and risk-taking that construction workers had for the growth of society.

 

Reference Photo:

Lunch atop a Skyscraper - Wikipedia