Photographer Joshua Irwandi reveals inside story of the Covid-19 image ‘that shocked a nation’
The photographer of one of the most controversial pictures of the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed what happened in the devastating weeks after.
WARNING: Distressing image.
The photographer of one of the most controversial pictures of the coronavirus pandemic has revealed what happened in the devastating weeks after he posted the image to social media.
Joshua Irwandi’s photograph of a body of a Covid-19 victim wrapped in plastic and drenched in disinfectant in an Indonesian hospital was dubbed “the photograph that shocked a nation” by National Geographic in July last year.
The process of wrapping the patient in three layers of plastic and disinfecting nine times takes two nurses an hour to complete and was mandated by the Indonesian Ministry of Health to suppress the spread of the virus at the beginning of the pandemic. The process is believed to continue to this day.
Irwandi had posted the picture, titled The Human Cost of Covid-19, to Instagram as hospitals struggled under the weight of the coronavirus outbreak. The photo accompanied a story by National Geographic which confronted the devastating the reality of Covid in a country struggling to understand.
Unprepared and overwhelmed, Indonesia, with a population of 273.5 million, has suffered through one of the worst Covid-19 outbreaks in Asia, and in many cases, the world.
By August this year, a second wave of Covid-19 is estimated to have caused 50,000 deaths in a few weeks, with the total number of infections in the millions.
At the beginning of the outbreak, in March last year, President Joko Widodo brushed off the emerging virus, touting herbal remedies and refusing to take action on social distancing and health measures. Consequently, cases exploded.
“It was complete chaos at the beginning of the pandemic. Test results took weeks, and at times they only came back after patients passed away,” Irwandi told news.com.au.
“Nurses had to lie to their parents about their work. Many nurses were treated as outcasts, they weren’t even allowed to return to their rented homes by their landlords. Some have caught the virus themselves. Patients weren’t always honest about their symptoms.
“Worst of all, personal protective equipment wasn’t always widely available. Many used raincoats and gaffer tapes. If there were any available, they were expensive, poorly made and easily torn.
“In short, we decided to wake up late to the pandemic, the greatest medical crisis in modern Indonesian history.”
Story behind the photo
Similar to other photojournalists across the world, Irwandi applied to photograph how Covid-19 was affecting life in an Indonesian hospital. As part of a National Geographic Society grant he shadowed health workers – and captured the unforgettable image of an unidentified Covid-19 victim, looking almost mummified.
Fred Ritchin, dean emeritus of the International Centre of Photography, told the publication: “It makes you look at it, feel terror. To me, the image was of someone being thrown out, discarded, wrapped in cellophane, sprayed with disinfectant, mummified, dehumanised, othered … It makes sense in a way. People have othered people with the virus because they don’t want to be anywhere near the virus.”
The picture was quickly picked up by global publications and the response, particularly in a nation that seemed determined to ignore the reality of the pandemic, was hostile.
“We entered a world relatively unknown to us then,” Irwandi said.
“For that particular image, it was not something I purposely came to photograph.
“I never went into the ward with the intention of making images of victims being wrapped. It
was something I only encountered when I was embedded with the doctors and nurses in the Covid-19 ward. I simply wanted to show what the reality was.”
More than 350,000 people have liked his image since Irwandi posted it on Instagram. More than one million liked the image on its first day on Nat Geo’s Instagram page.
But instead of compelling the nation to act, authorities clamped down. Irwandi faced intense criticism and his credibility called into question. Personal details of his private life were published.
Dr Wiku Adisasmito, from the nation’s coronavirus task force, told CNN Indonesia that Irwandi was “unethical” for posting the image and officials called for him to reveal the location of the hospital where the picture was taken.
“If the photo is true, then the person who takes the picture and distributes it is an unethical person,” Wiku said.
The criticism mounted.
Indonesian singer Erdian Aji Prihartanto, aka Anji, slammed Irwandi on Instagram to his two million followers, subsequently accusing him of also faking the picture. Anji’s followers soon added to the fire, accusing Irwandi of being a “slave” to the World Health Organisation.
Anji was soon forced to apologise following backlash from the Indonesian Photojournalist Professional Organisation which called out the entertainer for “harassment”.
Irwandi told news.com.au what happened in the days before the controversy.
“One of the spokespeople of the Covid-19 response team sent me a direct message on Instagram, asking whether she could share the post on Instagram Story.
“A couple of days later, I saw on the news that another member of the response team called myself and people who shared the image as being ‘unethical’.”
Such was the criticism, Irwandi told National Geographic at the time: “The photograph has served its purpose in raising awareness and galvanising a dialogue on the pandemic … I need to disappear for the time being, after shocking the nation.”
'The only version of reality that people want to believe in is the reality they curate for themselves.' - Joshua Irwandi (@joshirwandi) on the power of social media to fracture the commons. Irwandi was hounded by pandemic deniers for this photo. See more at #NatGeoStorySummitpic.twitter.com/DnM1d80dXw
— Paul Salopek (@PaulSalopek) January 15, 2021
One year later
One year later, finally, some reprieve. The picture won second place in the 2021 World Press Photo Awards in the General News category and was also a finalist for the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.
“When the photo went viral, what was most striking for me was how polarised opinions were regarding the pandemic,” Irwandi told news.com.au.
“Perhaps I was oblivious, but I didn’t feel that until the photo I uploaded on Instagram went
viral. At the beginning of the pandemic, I thought we were in this together, I thought we’d support each other as much as we can.
“I thought we’d give anything to alter the situation we are going through, to flatten the curve and support those in need. I thought we were on the same boat.
“To see such a polarisation was shocking, rather than scary, to me. I quickly learned that it was not necessarily the denial we are battling with. We are also fighting a losing battle with a social media algorithm where the reality people believe in is the reality they choose for themselves.
“What I photographed was a procedure mandated by the Department of Health of Indonesia. It is the procedure that is carried on until today. The public has a right to know of this fact,” Irwandi said.
Following July’s devastating second Delta wave, there is now hope as Indonesia’s Covid case numbers ease. After a daily record of 56,757 new daily case numbers on July 15, figures have dropped to just over 1200 this week, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Tracker. Deaths have dropped from more than 2000 at peak to just over 250.
Latest statistics show Indonesia has reported a total of 4.23 million cases and 143,000 deaths.
However, figures are vastly unreported and experts aren’t convinced they’ve escaped a third wave. An epidemiologist advising the ministry spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity and labelled efforts within provincial governments as “incompetent”.
“If the next wave is as big as the one we had in July, I don’t think the country is any better prepared.”
Irwandi agrees there is reason to be concerned.
“In various pockets of the city you can still see crowds, people not wearing masks.
“After speaking to medical workers, patients and survivors in Indonesian hospitals in recent weeks, vaccination seems to be the unifying factor that greatly reduce the chance for severe cases or fatality.
“If we don’t start recognising its importance or following the current health protocol, it is only a matter of time before we have another wave, and for those who do not have access yet to vaccination to suffer the worst.”
“The evidence is clear right in front of our eyes that no event in succession has claimed 4.55 million lives from 219 million cases.
“To those who don’t believe, if I may quote a doctor whom I spoke with recently: ‘In time they will. One would only react when their loved ones are affected by it.’”
Do you have an incredible Covid-19 story to share? Email youngma@news.com.au
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