PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSHUA IRWANDI
By Whitney Johnson, Director of Visual and Immersive Experiences
A single photograph still has the power to galvanize—politicians, the public, an entire country.
In the current issue of the magazine, we published a picture (
above) of the body of a suspected COVID-19 victim in an Indonesian hospital, wrapped in layers of plastic and disinfectant to prevent the spread of the virus.
The response to the image was immediate, particularly in a nation that has played down the effects of the pandemic. Since
Joshua Irwandi posted his photograph on his Instagram page, nearly 350,000 people have liked the image. More than one million people liked the image
its first day on Nat Geo’s Instagram page.
“Visualization is a powerful tool—it can help us more deeply understand the severity of the situation as we work to curb the virus,”
writes Harvard art historian Sarah Elizabeth Lewis. Such images, throughout history, have moved people to act in moments of injustice and crisis. “But the visuals we need most in this time are difficult to come by.”
She cited an image by National Geographic photographer
George Steinmetz of the mass COVID-19 burials on Hart Island in New York City, the city’s public cemetery (
below). Steinmetz didn't have long to shoot before the NYPD confiscated his drone. “In an act of, I would say, real vision and bravery,” says Lewis, he “was attempting to show us the human cost of COVID.”
I guess people are more willing to adapt if it's an actual rule, rather than just a recommendation.
