Vik is an artist who does artwork that is very unusual. He takes a picture and blows it up( sometimes really really big) and then embellishes it with objects. He did art with sugar of some kids that worked in the sugar fields.
He did artworks of people that worked in the garbage dump in Rio with actual garbage spread all around them. So he is a photographer artist.
I saw a documentary about him the other day.
I want to tell you about the garbage dump workers.
People are precious no matter where they end up. He came to Rio(where he grew up) and built a studio in a garbage dump. The pickers were people that would go through the garbage and pull out recycle items and sell them. they made a living that way. Rio is very poor and that is just what some people have to do.
Anyway Vik comes to the dump and get several of the Pickers to help him in his project. He stages them in poses in the dump that look like famous paintings then he photographs them. He blows it up huge and the pickers add garbage to the picture for shading and color. Weird as it sounds it is extremely beautiful.
then he sells the finished art work at auction and gives the pickers the money.
It changes their lives not only because they got some money but because they were a part of seeing themselves as beautiful. Which they were. They all went on to have better lives because they participated in this art project.
I have never seen art used in this way and it was so inspiring that I recommend everyone go see this film . Wasteland.
Muralist and Fine Artist