Vik Muniz at Jardim Gramacho in WASTE LAND, an Arthouse Films release 2010. Photograph by Fabio Ghivelder, courtesy of Vik Muniz Studio.Author’s Note: This film is available on Netflix Instant Play.
Rio de Janeiro: a city crammed full of buildings, people, parades and trash. This Brazilian city of over 6 million still lacks a recycling system, which the increasing amount of garbage shows. That’s where the pickers come in.
Pickers are hired by recycling whole-sellers who instruct employees to literally handpick various recyclable materials from waste landfills. In terms of trash volume per day, the biggest of these landfills across the globe is Jardim Gramacho. Here, men, women and children all gather to dig through piles upon piles of trash to earn a paycheck of no more than $30 a day.
“Waste Land” mainly focuses on the lives of a few of these pickers. But first, director Lucy Walker introduces the audience to Vik Muriz, a Brazil-born artist who now wants to give back to his homeland. To be frank, the introduction drags on for a while. Getting to know Muriz is necessary in order to understand
Final Magna Photographic Print entitled “The Gipsy Magna – Pictures of Garbage” from WASTE LAND, an Arthouse Films release 2010. Photograph by Vik Muniz, courtesy of Vik Muniz Studio.his background and reasoning behind his venture in “Waste Land,” but the longevity of the segment is not. Instead, this time could have been used to further develop the story of a Brazilian picker, whose tale was much more relevant to the theme of the film as a whole.
Once Muriz’s introduction finishes, the film becomes quite interesting. Muriz planned on going to the overcrowded Gramacho landfill to create art out of garbage. Known for using strange household objects like chocolate syrup, wire and sugar to illustrate his works, garbage wasn’t too much of a leap; however, the size of the project was.
While searching the location, Muriz and his crew stumbled upon a variety of characters. These characters came to write the true storyline of the documentary itself. Telling the story of their origins, most of them working at the landfill since they were children due to an unfortunate turn of events or the loss of a loved one, it quickly became evident that these pickers were talented and wise individuals. They simply weren’t dealt the best hand of cards.
Isis, Tião, Irmã and a variety of others blossomed into models. From both candid and unposed photos of these individuals, Muriz created a projection of the images on a large, white surface. Instructing the pickers to line the dark-space with different items of trash they’d collected earlier that day, he and his new employees slowly began to etch a single image out of garbage. From far away, the images seem like very detailed illustrations. Only when viewers look close do they see the row of flip-flops that shade out a nose or the toilet seats that create an arm.
Final Tiao Photographic Print Entitled “Marat/Sebastio – Pictures of Garbage” Photograph by Vik Muniz, courtesy of Vik Muniz Studio.These images heighten the film, but it is the people that make it the most compelling. It shows their endurance and strength as well as their willingness to both survive and flourish. It levels the playing field for everyone, destroying the heavy classism that exists in the various subsections of Brazil. Through the direction of Muriz, the pickers created art that shared their story and helped benefit their community. It is thought provoking on the ideals of society, as well as inspiring on an individual level. “Waste Land” is a gripping tale of how art truly connects people and propels them forward.
Contact me at adersch@asu.edu or @AlexDersch with questions, suggestions or comments. The more communication I get from you the better Eye Candy will be. Thank you!
