Eugene Smith Tomoko Uemura in Her Bath
The West coast of Japan was effected greatly by a disease termed Minamata, a neurological syndrome caused by sever mercury poisoning. The high levels of mercury in the environment was caused by industrial wastewater from the Chisso Corporation’s chemical factory. Smith ended up staying in Japan to document the atrocity for three years. This photo is hauntingly tragic and beautiful with the dramatic lighting as a mother bathes her deformed daughter like a child despite her obvious age and growth. The mother softly smiles looking down at her daughter face while cradling her above the water. The photographer Smith joined a demonstration where he was attacked and seriously injured by the employees of the plant. A Tokyo department staged an exhibit of his photos which gained traction on the news as well as his injuries which helped facilitate change in the area before his death at the age of 21.