“Black Diamond” : putting a face on Jharkhand’s miners

23 May 2019   •  
Written by Mélanie Baume
“Black Diamond” : putting a face on Jharkhand's miners

Sebastian Sardi, a Swedish photographer, brings together in his book Black Diamond moving images on the mines of Jharkhand, India. He unveils the daily struggle of those communities, rendered vulnerable by globalisation.

Around ten years ago, Sebastian Sardi discovered an article about the deplorable worker rights, or the lack thereof, in a coal mine in Inner Mongolia, China. In 2008, he went there to investigate the scene and as a result of this trip, decided to become a professional photographer. Camera in one hand, he later continued his adventures in other mines seldom documented in Kazakhstan, in Russia and eventually in a city in India called Dhanbad, at the heart of the state of Jharkhand. A setting that can be found in Black Diamond, a work published by Kehrer editions. By releasing around fifty landscapes and portraits of this marginalised community, Sebastian Sardi put a face on the miners whose health and survival are threatened on a daily basis by the extraction of the “black diamond”.

The acknowledgement of an existence

Constant flows of statistics and numbers overwhelm the news and depersonalize contemporary socioeconomic issues around the world, leaving the readers desensitized. The goal of Sebastian Sardi’s book? To give a voice to a population rarely seen by the rest of the world. Through his powerful and revealing images, the artist presents to us the workers in the mines of Dhanbad. Their fixed gaze witnesses a certain intimacy with the viewer, a connection that transcends the initial distance. Except an acknowledgement of their existence, the subjects in his photos do not ask for anything. The miners, photographed during their daily life, question with their stare our position as powerless bystanders. The portraits and the desolate landscapes face each other and confirm the devastating social and ecological effects of coal extraction. Imposing and deserted pits, deteriorating houses… The mines, almost lunar, evoke a world put aside, a place far away from our Occidental society. A poignant glimpse inside an isolated area.

 

Sebastian Sardi, Black Diamond, Kehrer editions, 104 pages, €50.80.

© Sebastian Sardi© Sebastian Sardi

© Sebastian Sardi

© Sebastian Sardi

Explore
France 98, Luke Skywalker and street photography: Laurent le Crabe's Chinese portrait
France 98, Luke Skywalker and street photography: Laurent le Crabe’s Chinese portrait
"As the son of a printer, I was immersed from an early age in a culture of images and colour", says Laurent le Crabe, who, as he grew up...
28 July 2021   •  
Written by Anaïs Viand
Macron, Brexit and family albums: Ed Alcock's Chinese portrait
Macron, Brexit and family albums: Ed Alcock’s Chinese portrait
Portrait photographer for many news publications – Le Monde, El País, the New York Times – documentary photographer and member of the...
22 July 2021   •  
Written by Lou Tsatsas
"While everyone knows how to draw a penis and testicles, a vulva or a clitoris is a problem"
“While everyone knows how to draw a penis and testicles, a vulva or a clitoris is a problem”
With Récupérer Nos Corps (Getting our bodies back, ed.), a project combining written testimonies and photographs, non-binary artist La...
14 July 2021   •  
Written by Lou Tsatsas
Belgium, pasta taster, and dangerous nipples: Charlotte Abramow's Chinese portrait
Belgium, pasta taster, and dangerous nipples: Charlotte Abramow’s Chinese portrait
She is Belgian, but lives in France. She has been challenging the clichés associated with female beauty and celebrating bodies in her...
11 July 2021   •  
Written by Anaïs Viand
Our latest articles
View all articles
Readers picks #355
Readers picks #355
Alexander Kaller and Stephen Sillifant, our readers picks #355, both escape the frenzy of our world to produce peaceful images – a...
30 August 2021   •  
Written by Fisheye Magazine
British seaside, round animals and Céline Sciamma: Max Miechowski's Chinese portrait
British seaside, round animals and Céline Sciamma: Max Miechowski’s Chinese portrait
Trained as a musician, British artist Max Miechowski turned to photography after a long trip to Southeast Asia. Portraits...
25 August 2021   •  
Written by Lou Tsatsas
Instagram selection #312
Instagram selection #312
Through portraits or landscapes, the artists of our Instagram selection #312 never stop experimenting. All of them seek new textures and...
24 August 2021   •  
Written by Joachim Delestrade
The labourer who turned mud into silver
The labourer who turned mud into silver
With Zilverbeek (Silver creek), Lucas Leffler explores the myth of a worker who made his wealth from the mud that lined the bottom of a...
23 August 2021   •  
Written by Finley Cutts