View this impressive story in photographs at The New York Times Lens Blog – The Many Faces of Malaria
The assignment facing Adam Nadel was to take photographs for an exhibition by the Malaria Consortium. That meant going beyond pictures of patients ravaged by malaria.
Mr. Nadel knew that he would need to deliver more than just a series of heart-rending portraits. “If you have a bunch of great pictures but they don’t communicate the complexity and the important aspects of what you’re documenting, then what you have are powerful emotional photographs,” he said.
“But they won’t offer you the possibility for education.”
Mr. Nadel said the point of the commission, from Peter Newton of the Malaria Consortium, was not to “just make people feel terrible so they’ll donate money.” The disease-control company Vestergaard Frandsen also supported the project.
In setting out to capture the stories, science, and sprawl of the disease, Mr. Nadel photographed a boy in Cambodia greeting the monsoon rain with outstretched arms, letting the drops spatter his smiling face; a row of Nigerian men, severe in their gas masks and gloves, brandishing spraying equipment; and a magnified mosquito foot that looks like a tentacled sea creature or a bristled ear of wheat — a surprisingly intimate view of the tiny creature that kills over 1 million people a year.
The disease is rampant in sub-Saharan Africa and tropical areas around the world; its prevalence tied to poverty. Mr. Nadel, who has spent recent years documenting the effects of war on people who live in areas of conflict, said: “This is normal. That’s what we’re trying to bring to the audience. This is not unique. Half the world lives like this.”
Each region has its own challenges. Deforestation in Southeast Asia often leads to a decrease in malaria cases, while in the sub-Sahara, it often increases malaria transmission.
Working with Dr. Marie Cantino at the University of Connecticut, Mr. Nadel took arresting portraits of the perpetrators themselves. Mosquito specimens required painstaking preparations to be photographed under a high-powered microscope.
“I wanted to do something that involved a bit more mental engagement and that’s what was really nice about this commission,” he said.
As the project went on, Mr. Nadel realized that photography wasn’t always the best way to explain some of the science. He invited Kako, a Brazilian artist, to create a graphic novel depicting the process of disease transmission.
“I can get bored easily and this is challenging and new,” Mr. Nadel said. “I never thought about how to lay out a text panel on how to identify a mosquito foot and do it in an aesthetically pleasing manner.“
“Malaria: Blood, Sweat and Tears” won an award of excellence from Pictures of the Year International. An exhibition, sponsored by the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, is on view at the United Nations through May 26.
