THE GLAMOUR OF RECYCLING

"The Glamour of Recycling" is a photographic project born from a chance discovery: an image of my daughter playing with a beer can. This seemingly banal moment became the starting point for a deeper reflection on consumerism, recycling, and the fate of waste. I have always believed that everyday details can hide powerful messages and unexpected aesthetics, and through this project, I want to explore how what we usually consider waste can acquire a different meaning—if we look at it through different eyes. The project arises from my need to explore the link between global consumerism and its impact on the environment, especially in countries considered “developed.” With a poetic gaze and a search for aesthetic beauty, I aim to show how materials generated by overconsumption, despite their ephemeral and seemingly unaesthetic nature, can be full of meaning and reflection. Through portraits of children dressed in these materials (plastics, cardboard, textiles, etc.), the project seeks to create a dialogue around what we consume and what we leave behind, and invites the generation that will live with the future impact to take part in this reflection. The photographic work is constructed as a visual narrative that, through staging and aesthetics, creates an atmosphere that appears glamorous and refined. This superficial beauty, initially attractive, becomes a critical reflection when we realize that all the props used are actually waste from our consumer society. This creative process led me to research the fate of the waste generated daily by developed countries. I discovered that only a small percentage of collected plastics are turned into new products (between 20% and 30%), while globally, only between 9% and 20% of this waste is recycled. As for paper and cardboard waste, the recycling rate is around 60–70%, and for glass, 30–40%. When I delved into non-recyclable waste, I discovered that much of it is exported to developing countries such as Ghana or India. This practice, known as “waste trade” or “waste export,” raises significant ethical and environmental questions that I want to explore through my work. For this reason, the second part of the project will take place in Ghana, home to two of the largest landfills in the world: one textile and one technological. There, I will portray children who collect this waste in order to survive. Through this visual dialogue between “developed” and “developing” countries, the project does not aim to be a social reportage, but rather a visual narrative that combines photographs with my personal account, offering a critical and artistic perspective on the impacts of our consumption dynamics.