Gaining Agency through Trash: "Waste Land"
At the beginning of Waste Land, world-renowned artist Vik Muniz states he wants to “change the life of people with materials they deal with every day.” Waste Land
“follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho. . . Muniz’s initial objective was to ‘paint’ the catadores with garbage. However, his collaboration with these inspiring characters as they recreate photographic images of themselves out of garbage reveals both the dignity and despair of the catadores as they begin to re-imagine their lives.”
Using garbage found at Jardim Gramacho, Muniz and the catadores recreate large-scale portraits of the catadores.
He then photographed these immaculate recreations and auctioned them at Sotheby’s in London, giving the profits back to the catadores. While some question whether Muniz is exploiting the catadores and exposing them to a an unattainable lifestyle, he decides the benefits outweigh the possible disillusionment. After the film, many of the catadores featured have the means and drive to leave Gramacho.
