Dana Popa - not Natasha

This photograph shows a baby lying near the edge of a double bed tightly swaddled in a soft pale beige/pink cloth. This baby is the sole figure in the image and only takes up a small portion of the frame. The colours are vey plane and muted with the only bright colour being the pink of the baby’s dummy.
The composition is interesting. The baby is in the far right of the frame and a plane of cream cloth takes up the foreground. Most of the detail lies in the top of the image and is part of the beds headboard.
Te depth of field is quite shallow and the eye is drawn towards the baby. With the viewers focus directed onto the babies face. The lighting is very soft and the foreground of the image is lit up the best. The light seems to be natural and coming from where the viewer is standing – from the bottom of the image. The shadows go upwards. The baby’s face is lit up but partially thrown into shadow and obscured by its dummy.
What I find interesting about the image is the lonely and calm atmosphere it seems to contain. Usually children are associated with chaos and noise but I associate this baby with quiet and stillness. This is probably because of the emptiness of the image. The baby is the only figure and the viewer is forced to wonder where its parents are, its mother in particular. It is quite sad. The viewer wonders why this baby is alone and why it is in a completely barren environment that would usually be associated with adults. The baby looks fragile and almost like a doll. The vulnerability of the baby in the image helps to highlight the vulnerability of Dana’s subjects. Her entire subject of sex trafficking is a sensitive subject and I think this image is particularly successful in bringing forth some of the sadder issues of sex trafficking.
I like the image, it is very visually appealing and soft on the eyes. It highlights some of the issues Dana is trying to relate to her viewers in a powerful way, even though the image is very soft. It is particularly hard-hitting as the image is part of an exhibition that tackles a problem that is very much an issue today. The artist spent time getting to know her subjects and gaining their confidence, this enabled her to capture them in a relaxed and natural way. Her work is particularly impressive when viewed together in exhibition format.

Eleanor Smith