Social inequality
My project “I Am You” is a paean to people all around Asia who battle every day, dealing with circumstances I fear might have defeated me – had I been in their shoes.
I am always aware that my life of relative prosperity, comfort and opportunity could easily have been very different. In every individual’s origin story, there is a moment which changes everything. In my case it was when my father, from a poor Bengali family, got the opportunity to live and work in Europe. It was 1961 and some European countries, their populations devastated and still recovering from the Second World War, were giving out work visas via a lottery. My father’s family got one and, as the youngest of four brothers, it was decided he should be the one to go. He got on a ship, and weeks later arrived in a small German town to do manual labour work in factories. His intelligence, grit and courage saw him through many challenges – but it all started with a moment of fortune. And that does not come to everyone.
A moment of good luck, six decades ago, amplified by my father’s strength, is what separates me from millions of people all around Asia whose battles are daily. I never forget this. Through my photography I try to capture moments in the lives of these people – who could have been me – with admiration and empathy. In doing so I try to connect the viewer with my subjects, and their lives, on a fundamentally human level. I want the viewer to have a moment of reflection, seeing another individual, acknowledging their struggle, but also seeing their strength and perseverance. And wondering how they would fare if life had played out differently.
Some of these images are deeply sad, such as the rikshaw walla, head bowed and shoulders slumped in a moment of exhaustion, trying to find the strength to carry more weight on his legs and shoulders. Others convey inner strength, such as the elderly homeless man in Kolkata, or the street vendor fighting Jakarta traffic – both showing steely defiance in their expressions.
Some images show people finding moments of calm: the Rajasthani woman reading the paper before opening her shop for the day; the Hong Kong fishmonger pausing for a minute. Some of my subjects are triumphant: the Afghan labourer who just won an informal weekend wrestling match in Dubai and made some money. Others seem content, such as the young woman rocking her baby in a cradle, on a Jodhpur rooftop.
This is not a time-bound project. For as long as I have been doing photography, I have been moved by people living such moments, and I will continue to capture them. Although I have also taken photos with the same theme of social inequality around Europe and North America, I have chosen to focus on Asia for this exhibition, as it is the continent on which I have spent the bulk of my life, and where these scenes of social inequality play out millions of times every day.

Amit Kar
Dubai
2025

An Indonesian woman earns her living making street snacks out of a makeshift outdoor kitchen, in a low-income part of north Jakarta.

An elderly homeless man gives a look of quiet defiance, though the deep welts on his shoulder give evidence of his difficult circumstances living in a riverside park in Kolkata.

A Thai gentleman in the waters off Koh Samui, having just finished bathing his water buffalo – clearly a friend as well as a working animal.

A young man waiting for his bus to fight its way home through Jakarta’s immutable traffic; his expression conveying the weariness of a long day that is still far from over.

After a long day of work in north Jakarta’s docklands, a woman ferries her young family home on her motorbike, her young child in the front pointing the way.

A fishmonger in the Mongkok area of Hong Kong, takes a momentary pause from his back-breaking work.

Jaipur shopkeeper taking time to read the newspaper before opening her shop for the day.

On a rainy Kolkata street, a rickshaw walla hangs his head for a moment, gathering his will and strength to carry on with his exhausting work.

A streetfood vendor flashes a belligerent look at a private vehicle, as he fights his way through Jakarta’s taxing traffic.

On a Bengaluru side street, a young man who delivers water bottles for a living, stops to make a phone call — perhaps talking about a brighter future.