奇速英语

Brazilian artist Vik Muniz uses everyday objects in unusual ways. Through his art, Muniz makes people think differently about their everyday lives-even their own rubbish.

In 2007, Muniz worked on a two-year project at one of the world’s largest landfills. Until its closure in 2012, Jardim Gramacho received about 70 percent of the rubbish from Rio de Janeiro. About 3,000 rubbish pickers, known as catadores, worked there. Their job was to hunt through the rubbish for recyclable cans, bottles, and other materials. They then made money by selling the objects to recycling companies.

The catadores’ work was dirty and dangerous, and most of them only received between $20 and $25 a day. Despite the hard conditions, many catadores were proud of their work. Valter Dos Santos, a worker at Jardim Gramacho for more than 25 years, told Muniz, “I am proud to be a picker. I try to explain to people that recycling prevents great harm to nature and the environment. People sometimes say, ‘But one single soda can?’ One single can is of great importance! That single can will make the difference.”

Muniz became friends with Dos Santos and other catadores. They allowed him to take their photographs at the landfill, where they posed for artistic portraits. For example, Muniz photographed a landfill worker in the style of a famous French painting. The workers then helped Muniz create huge images of these photos on the floor of his workshop. They used materials from the landfill to add color and depth to the images.

       Muniz says he wanted to “change the lives of people with the same materials they deal with every day.” A photograph of his recreation of the French painting sold for £28,000 ($50,000) at a London art auction. Muniz gave the money to the catadores workers’ organization.

In 2010, a movie called Waste Land was made about Muniz’s project. The film received many awards and helped make people aware of the rubbish collectors’ lives. The catadores also began to see themselves differently. “Sometimes we see ourselves as so small,” says Irma, a cook at Gramacho, “but people out there see us as so big, so beautiful.”