This image reflects the ethnographer's gaze, from above and behind, upon what is presumably a quotidian activity (one assumes that algae is being raked out of the river). It is interesting that the shadow of the ethnographer is literally present here, in the upper left corner of the image. Pollution in the form of discarded trash is visible in the frame, the most obvious reminder of the toxicity of the place. Equally indicative, however--as the caption makes clear--is the algae itself, which is thriving on untreated wastewater flowing into the river. The image raises questions about the various ways in which toxicity is made visible, and the instrumental role of the ethnographer herself in the process.
