Wasteland

Walker, Lucy, João Jardim, Karen Harley, Angus Aynsley, Hank Levine, Moby, and Vik Muniz. Waste Land. London: Almega Projects, 2011.

Wasteland is a documentary film following the artist Vik Muniz as he executes an artwork, from inception to exhibition. The specific series of artworks presented involves recycling pickers from the world’s largest landfill (in his homeland, Brazil) to execute photos restating classical artworks using recycling as a medium. What results from this, the photograph, is but a segment of the piece: the entire process is intended to be a part of the work, extending into these people’s lives. The proceeds from the sale of the photographs benefited the worker’s organization. One of the workers travelled to and experienced the auction of his portrait. Presented in the documentary is Vik’s vision of how to go beyond material concerns and bring in the depth of a human concern, involving his concerns for people in multiple ways through his artistic process rather than carrying on a practice in isolation.