Cairo, Egypt (population estimated to be 22.2 million). Photograph: Hana Gamal
At last count, our planet is home to 34 “megacities”: cities with populations of more than 10 million. By 2035, the UN estimates there will be 48 megacities; by 2050, it is expected that two out of every three people will live in cities as populations grow, rural areas are absorbed by urban sprawl, and people continue to move in search of work, education and opportunity.
São Paulo, Brazil. The population in the city proper is estimated to be 12.3 million, while the São Paulo Macrometropolis is home to 34.5 million people. Photograph: Gustavo Minas
Understanding what it’s like to live in these intense urban environments is the theme of the National Gallery of Victoria’s Megacities exhibition, an immersive multimedia exhibition featuring about 500 images by 10 photographers in 10 megacities.
The NGV’s senior curator of photography, Susan van Wyk, commissioned street photographers living and working in 10 megacities around the world: Hana Gamal in Cairo, Farhana Satu in Dhaka, Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro in Jakarta, Saumya Khandelwal in Delhi, Gustavo Minas in São Paulo, Chen Ronghui in Shanghai, JT White in Seoul, Yagazie Emezi in Lagos, Mikiko Hara in Tokyo and Francisco Mata Rosas in Mexico City.
Delhi, India (population estimated to be 32.9 million). Photograph: Saumya Khandelwhal
Together they have created an intimate portrait of their home cities, documenting people living, working, moving and playing in the streets. The images span quiet, reflective spaces and pockets of nature, as well as more confronting images of crowds and construction on a mass scale, reflecting the fascinating individuality of each city and all the people who live in them.
Megacities often get a bad rap – portrayed as chaotic, polluted and crowded, where competition for resources is intense and many people struggle just to survive: places perceived through the lens of “fear and prejudice”, as Timothy Moore, curator of contemporary design and architecture at NGV, writes in the Triennial catalogue.
Mexico City, Mexico. The population in Greater Mexico City is estimated to be 22.2 million. Photograph: Francisco Mata Rosas
But the Megacities exhibition offers more nuanced and individual perspectives of life in these diverse cities. “The people making these images live in these places. It’s not an external visitor or tourist coming in and capturing images that are all about what makes [places] different,” says Van Wyk.
“This is a project that offers up an opportunity for people to present images that are a reflection of the environment in which they live and work … It’s a complex vision of the world today.”
Hana Gamal: Cairo, Egypt (population 22.2 million)
Gamal’s images of Cairo, where she was born, were shot on film and mostly in black and white. “Having a film camera with a limited number of photographs teaches you how to slow down and really be present, to connect with your feelings and to focus on what you really want to photograph,” she says.
Cairo, Egypt. Photograph: Hana Gamal
“I have a love-hate relationship with Cairo. I love it so much, but I also hate it sometimes. This contradiction is engraved in the streets, on the walls, in the corners, on the people’s faces.
“One of my favourite photographs in this series is an amusement park gate, where you see a very scary, strange face screaming. This picture depicts so much of the city right now. We’re all screaming inside our hearts with everything happening – not just here in Cairo, but in the world.”
Farhana Satu: Dhaka, Bangladesh (population 21.3 million)
Satu was born in the south of Bangladesh in a forested coastal area. She moved to Dhaka to study when she was 13 and the city was “a shock”, she says.
Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photograph: Farhana Satu
“It’s so full of life but not at all close to nature, and that was very challenging for me as an artist. But Dhaka is a magical city. Despite the stress, and the traffic jams, people are still joyful. They are still friendly, they are not rude at all,” she adds.
“In Dhaka, you can have the richest men living in luxury on the top floor of a building, while homeless people sleep on the street below. I wanted to focus on that distance between rich and poor, of the two sides of human existence. It’s like sky and ground.”
Chen Ronghui: Shanghai, China (population 40 million)
Ronghui was born in a small village in a province near Shanghai. After living in Hangzhou and New York, he moved to Shanghai in 2014. “This is not just my story,” he says of his migration to the city. “It’s the story of many young Chinese people.
Shanghai, China. Photograph: Chen Ronghui
“In my first year in Shanghai, I had no time to enjoy anything. Like many migrants, I lived far from the city in cheap accommodation, travelling an hour or two by train to the centre. But eventually, I started to enjoy the journey to my office, because I could document what I was seeing around me.
“Shanghai is totally different from other cities like New York or Paris. It is half developed, half developing. Half socialism, half capitalism. Everything constantly changes. The facades remain for the tourists, but behind the facades there’s nothing. No local people at all. It’s a fake beauty.”
• Megacities opens as part of the NGV Triennial on 3 December and runs until 7 April.
