Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Permanent Error.






Permanent Error. Photographs by Pieter Hugo. Prestel, Lakewood, 2011. 128 pp., 60 colour illustrations, 9½x11½". Images from photo-eye.

Is it just me or does the world seem to have gone awry lately...

Book description:

"The most recent publication from the award-winning photographer Pieter Hugo reveals the devastating consequences of toxic waste on one community in Africa.

In his previous well-received volumes of photographs, Hugo offers unflinching yet striking portraits of humans, animals, societies, and landscapes that shock and disturb, but also demand our attention.

In 'Permanent Error', he documents a garbage dump in Ghana that has become the repository for discarded computers from around the world. These haunting images document the true cost of a misguided policy - the shipping of millions of tons of obsolete computers to developing countries.

The computers are burned to extract valuable metals, effectively turning the site into a toxic wasteland that contaminates air, soil, and groundwater for miles around. These amazing portraits tell a story of a marginal community overwhelmed by poverty, but where human strength and resilience shine through the inhuman conditions Hugo lays bare."

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