WasteLand

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WasteLand

Vik Muniz, a New York based artist makes a return to Brazil his native country. Muniz endeavors on making an interesting journey with a group of men and women who work as garbage pickers (catadores) at a landfill popularly known as Jardim Gramacho in Rio de Janeiro. The garbage pickers spending their days working in muck digging activities to extract recyclable trash earning between twenty and twenty five dollars to support their homes. The collected material is sold to wholesalers who shred and resale it to companies. I find it fascinating about the way the pickers differentiate the rich and poor people’s garbage. In terms of garbage, their opinion is one that seemingly shows some resentment of the rich and in turn showers immense compassion and glimmer for the poor man’s garbage. In essence, when you compare the rich person’s garbage, it entails fancy stuff and other underutilized and wasted materials. On the other hand, the poor person’s garbage is something that probably served its purpose fully. In other words, it would be very hard to find recyclable trash coming from a poor person.

In my opinion, the garbage pickers have an immense passion for books and gaining knowledge. Their desire to read is amazing as we can identify the pickers who decide to establish the Association of Collectors of the Metropolitan Landfill of Jardim Gramacho (ACAMJG). This association has been set up with the view of incorporating the pickers in a skills training center. It is clear that these people have a hunger of learning. A good example is Zumbi, who is a member of the association, has endeavored to build a library of books only from discarded books. In addition, these pickers have a desire of using the books to impart knowledge to their children. In their view, no parent would wish their child to pass through the same problems and challenges. They want their children to be learned and pursue good lives.

It does not bother me that Tiao is better equipped with knowledge compared to other people especially when he discusses the author Prince Machiavelli, the philosopher Nietzsche, and when he compares the Renaissance Florence to the modern day gangs in Rio. In my opinion, this shows that Tiao is leaned and his hunger for information will take him to higher places. This way he would serve as a good role model to his ten year old daughter as well as the other pickers. His achievement as the president of (ACAMJG) can be attributed to the book “Prince” by Machiavelli. He asserts that he has leaned a lot from that book and that he wishes to proceed on to university and further his English.

In the waste land documentary, Tiao poses in a discarded bath tub as a means of recreating Le Morte de Marat (Marat’s death). Marat is a famous eighteenth century painting in France done by Jacques-Louis David. Muniz shoots the photograph which is later developed by hired pickers through filling the projected image with recyclable refuse from Jardim Gramacho. This pose is symbolic to Muniz as it depicts the lifestyle pickers in Jardim Gramacho have to put up with. In addition, he thinks it will propel the documentaries sales. Muniz later explains to Tiao that all profits received from the portrait will be donated to (ACAMJG) for the betterment of the association.