As a young man in the 1980s, Brazilian artist Vik Muniz came to the US by chance before making a name for himself as an artist creating works from found objects. From his studio in Brooklyn, he makes art out of all kinds of materials: chocolate, sugar, toy soldiers and, in his documentary Waste Land, garbage.
Nominated for the best documentary Oscar in 2010, Waste Land follows Muniz as he travels to Jardim Gramacho in Rio de Janeiro. At what was once the world’s largest landfill site, he meets the “catadores” or pickers, who work at the dump, sorting through recyclable materials for a living.
