WASTELAND: Uncovering Beauty & Dignity Amidst the World’s Largest Landfill
4 Sep
If you appreciate a wonderful documentary as much as we do and have somehow missed this Academy Award nominated beauty, get thee to the video store!
Brazilian artist Vik Muniz creates pieces of artwork that invite a second look. Often repurposing unlikely materials to recreate a well-known image (eg. peanut butter and jelly in his interpretation of the Mona Lisa), Muniz has become a fixture in the world of contemporary art thanks to his unique and intriguing style.
In 2008, Muniz took on an inspiring project. He returned to Brazil from his home in New York and headed straight for the world’s largest dump, Jardim Gramacho, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. There he got to know the Catadores – the workers who collect recyclable materials from the mass of rubbish. Muniz photographed these workers and together with their help, recreated the photograph out of rubbish.
Throughout the process, we get to know the workers as Muniz does. We witness their day to day realities, we meet their children, are welcomed into their home, and watch as they are empowered to see their lives in a new light.
What moved us most was the powerful effect the experience of working with Muniz had on the workers (particularly the women in the film) triggering a newly realised sense of self-worth and dignity…
”Sometimes we see ourselves as so small, but people out there see us as so big, so beautiful.” – Irma
A gorgeous film for your next quiet night in (and a brilliant soundrack by Moby too!)
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