One Man's Trash (#22)

After watching the documentary Waste Land, I was drawn to the idea of capturing the "human factor". The experiences these people shared with each other among trash was heart-warming (yes, I just used that term, what of it?). There was something really stark about the contrast between the humor and lightness the catadores shared, and the unfulfilling labor at the recycling center. There was a great moment in the documentary when Vik's collaborator pondered over how inaccurate their original assumption that the workers were happy with their jobs really was. It was clear that the workers yearned for something more, though they were content in the moment with each other.

Magna's portrait,"The Gypsy Magna-Pictures of Garbage"

The worker, Magna, had a story that struck me a lot. A hard-working employee at the recycling center, Magna regarded her job as something to be proud of. As she put it, "at least I'm not turning tricks in Copacabana". In fact, not soliciting their bodies was something a lot of women at Jardim Gramacho took pride in. Comparatively speaking, working amongst the trash was dignified. At the end of the documentary, Magna left her husband. Her story was powerful; she stated that she had felt like an obsequious mule before, and after leaving her husband felt liberated. Personally, I found Magna's portrait to be the most beautiful. There's something magnetic and graceful about Magna's warm personality and expression-and beyond that, something deeply strong.

I couldn't help but smile when I saw the catadores' reactions to their portraits. It was clear that the workers were touched by the fact that Vik Muniz was representing them-making them artwork, as Tiao put it. It's amazing to me that through the work of Vik Muniz, the workers and everyone that bought the portraits, were able to find beauty in what was normally regarded as just trash. And I guess sometimes that's what it takes-an outsider to point out the beauty in the things you typically overlook.

Photograph by Vik Muniz, courtesy of Vik Muniz Studio