Tomasz Gudowaty | Ship Wreckers

Exhibition Dates: May 11 – June 17, 2006

Opening reception with the artist: May 11, 2-5 PM

 
If you believe modern legend, it all began on a stormy October night in 1960. A large freighter, caught in the midst of a treacherous cyclone on the Bay of Bengal, was grounded on the beach near Chittagong, a city in former Eastern Pakistan. When re-floating the ship proved impossible, it was abandoned by its foreign owners, and left to the devices of the locals. Using only minimal tools, the ship was taken apart methodically, piece by piece, until within a few months it had disappeared entirely. Thus the beach at Chittagong was transformed into the world’s largest shipyard specializing in the disassembly of worn-out ships.

Ship wrecking has become a well-oiled machine in Chittagong, with over 70 ships dismantled annually. After the on-board equipment has been auctioned and removed to the local market, the ship is then “cleaned”, a process that involves cutting holes in the hull and letting the tide water wash in to rinse the ship’s interior. Fuels, lubricants, and chemicals are washed into the coastal waters of the Bay. The ship is then overtaken by swarms of workers, who with bare hands break down the hull into parts to be used as raw materials for the metallurgical industry in a country devoid of natural resources.

It is impossible to know the exact number of shipyard workers employed, as they lack a contract with their employers, benefits, or a traceable payroll. It is estimated that anywhere between 25,000 and 100,000 workers populate the shipyards of Chittagong. These people, the poorest of the poor, live in barracks in the shipyard that often lack electricity or water. They work without protective clothing or gear, in circumstances that preclude their health and safety. They endure these conditions with dignity and calm.

It is upon the workers that Gudzowaty has trained his lens. Working in black and white, he focuses on the human element of this tale, capturing the drama of workers dwarfed by massive hulls, as well as the intimacy of portraiture. The men of the shipyards are ever-present and they ultimately overpower the overwhelming scale of the ships upon which their livelihoods depend.

Tomasz Gudzowaty was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1971. He is a member of a number of press agencies, including the Polish Press Agency and A.I.P.S. (Association internationale de la press sportive). His prolific photographic oeuvre includes over nine separate projects, such as “Shaolin Temple”, which depicts the lives of China’s infamous Shaolin Monks; “Following Wild Trails” which illustrates African wildlife with breath-taking intimacy; “Of Eagle and Man” which investigates the Kazaks of Mongolia, who in an age-old tradition utilize wild eagles for hunting. Gudzowaty has been the recipient of four World Press Photography Awards over the last five years.