Photographer Soumayan Biswas was circling a large village pond near his home in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, searching for "stories," when he spotted 12-year-old student Sabana lying beside a tangle of fishing nets. The weather was "cloudy that day, and the wind was light," Biswas recalled, a muted afternoon that sharpened his attention.
Spontaneous Pose Reflects Screen Absorption
Biswas had never met Sabana before, but he was struck by how absorbed she was in her phone. The mask-like pose, with an image of eyes covering her face, was Sabana's own idea. "I don't know the origin of the eyes image; whether it was something she had created herself, downloaded or found online," Biswas said. He was more interested in how it created "a visual relationship between the child and the digital screen."
Subtle Asymmetry Mirrors Dual Worlds
One of Sabana's hands is painted with nail polish, the other bare – a small asymmetry that mirrors the duality of the physical world and the digital one she is immersed in. Biswas stressed that the photograph is not a statement about Sabana personally being "addicted" to her phone. However, he noted: "Knowingly or otherwise, mobile phones have created a different world in the lives of children – it is very difficult for them to avoid that temptation."
iPhone 15 Capture Highlights Everyday Stories
The photograph, titled Borrowed Gaze, was shot on an iPhone 15. Biswas often explores nearby areas for visual narratives, and this image emerged from a routine walk. The composition uses the fishing nets as a natural frame, contrasting the traditional rural setting with modern digital distraction.
