An interpretation of:

A Concise History

of World Population. ][words + design by Maximillian Malone

After receiving the publication ‘A Concise History of World Population’ and being only a few days away from a six-week trip to India (the second most populous country) it seemed a brilliant coincidence to be given such a topic.

The challenge of interpreting the publication was never going to be a two-dimensional solution. Being in India meant that I could add a human level to the discussion, which predominantly deals only in numbers.

Designing a poster highlighting three of the most highly populated cities in India; Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai, using local Xerox machines was a fun challenge and met with much curiosity. Positng it up in public locations led to interesting discussions with locals that ended with such questions as “what is the meaning in this?” “but what is the importance of this issue?” and even such philosphical questions as “yes Sir, but how many of this population are at peace?”

When you experience the crowded cities and the packed train stations you view our planets situation in a different light. From the comforts of home in the west, learning these figures from texts books does not make you realise how it must be for these countries.

Population is a real issue for humanity and the human race must resist placing itself at the top of importance and re-align itself in regards to the balance of nature and the earth as a whole if we are to overcome this dilema.There is no quick-fix answer with this. Designing an A2 poster with no motive other than presenting facts meant that I could attempt to reinforce the numbers into Indian peoples daily consciousness. The following document is my artistic response and interpretation.

Varanasi-1,435,113m‘A Concise History

of World Population’ was an extremely insightful publication. Its forecasts for population increase were startling. It mentioned the recent history of India and its battle for population control. Indira Gandhi in 1976 encouraged legislations to pass a law making sterilization obligatory after three children. This legislation was only approved within the state of Maharastra in 1977 yet it was not imposed.

lucknow-4,588,455m

Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian approach led to her defeat in the political elections the following year. With hundreds of languages spoken in India, a variety of cultures, traditions and religions being practised it seems impossible to impose single legislations on such a diverse country. Seeing first-hand the impacts of population it seems something must be done, but what?

During my travels in Uttar Pradesh, North India I came across quite an astonishing site; The City Montessori School which is the largest school in the world in terms of pupils.

An updated certificate in October 2010 from the Guinness World Records stated: “The largest school in terms of pupils is the City Montessori School in Lucknow, India, which had a record enrolment of 39,437 pupils on 9 August 2010 for the 2010-2011 academic year.”

The book ‘A Concise History of World Population’ presented impressive facts, forecasts & figures but failed in portraying any human factor to its numbers; walking past the school and seeing population and its effects first hand was a completely different experience.

Largest School in the World.

Lucknow, India

Largest School in the World.

Lucknow, IndiaPhotograph by Lea Gotfredsen ©

Girls of CMS smiling on their journey home.

Photograph by Lea Gotfredsen ©