We are all heroes

“We are all heroes” is a personal project which reflects the plastic waste problem in Indonesia and the ability we have as humans to take action to change it.

The idea of this project came up in 2018 and is still open.

It was on my first travel to Bali, in 2018, when I got shocked by the huge amount of plastic in the island. The landscapes were completely different from what I saw on social media. That was the reason why I wanted to come back next year: this time with the aim of document the problem.

The project is divided in two parts: in one hand we have the problem, with some street photos documenting the plastic we can find on the streets. On the other hand we have the solution, people and organizations, such as Trash Hero, who take action on this matter and educate people organizing weekly clean ups.

I had the chance to document Trash hero labor to carry out the project.

The use of black and white has two concrete reasons. First, to avoid distracting the main theme with the use of color. Second, thanks to the high contrast I can emphasize the whites from the plastic and darken the subjects faces so everyone could be that person.

I don’t want to critique the Indonesian culture with this project. The plastic waste problem in Bali is the reflection of the society, the world’s consume habits and lifestyle, which are influenced by big companies. A huge part of the plastic waste we can find in Indonesia is imported by developed countries, even though this action is already illegal.

Indonesia is formed by more than 15.000 island. This is other reasons why it’s not easy to find a proper plastic waste management. Also, tourism has a huge impact on the islands because it receives more tourists every year and it’s not prepared to manage it. The solution nowadays is just burning the plastic.

Finally, education has a fundamental role to raise awareness about our actions. This is why there are organizations like Trash Hero Indonesia that fight to educate people with concrete actions such as weekly plastic collections.

This project invites to a change and a self-reflection.

I love to travel; it opens my creativity. It would be a dream to share my work, ideas, projects and learn from other artists in Residency Bursary at Landskrona Foto if I get selected for it.