The combination of archaeologist and documentary filmmaker must produce interesting results. And this is exactly what happens in the case of Wierzbicki. In his series, with the scientific precision of a researcher of the past, he reveals to us the secrets of the desert, which, contrary to popular belief, is not empty at all.
In his words: I roam around desolate places and photograph what people leave behind in this endless landscape. Some of the "constructions" or objects I find there make me wonder. It seems to many that deserts are desolate and completely empty spaces with hot and dry climates, where there is basically nothing. Already in the famous "Lawrence of Arabia" there are words about how there is nothing in the desert and no one looks for anything there. That's how it used to be, but today in the 21st century it's sadly different! Garbage left by people and spread by the wind - there is plenty of it. Everything is slowly being covered with sand or deteriorating in the hellish sun. The absurdity of some of the finds begs for photographic documentation. Penetrating these places I have strong associations with "Mad Max" or the currently popular theme of the Anthropocene. I haven't found another photographer in the area covering this topic, this prompted me to take on the challenge.
Already a few years ago, Jurek noted that the Arabs have made tremendous progress in the last few decades and have moved from traditional somewhat feudal states into globalized modernity. The concept of ecology is quite faint here, although it must be admitted that slowly this awareness is also emerging here. Especially among the younger generation. Wierzbicki has for many years been fascinated by Oman, where he lives and works, and is in a sense an "ambassador" of the Middle East in our part of the world, looking at the Arab Orient with a sympathetic and empathetic eye, though also full of realism and criticism. I think that from the combination of both attitudes came the realization of the Plastic Paradise.
Anyone who has ever even briefly been to the Middle East, even with a travel agency, notices that next to the magnificent resorts are places that are horribly littered, devastated places that no one cares about. This is a side effect of this civilization leap over the centuries.
Wierzbicki notes: The media repeat like a mantra the need to electrify transportation, CO2 emissions or "paper straws" creating the impression that the future of our planet depends on it. At the same time, waste products from China or global corporations land by the tons in places that the ecologically concerned consumer of Western mass media does not see..
A separate sub-theme is the beaches of the Indian Ocean, which often border directly on the desert: Dead fish, birds, turtles and other animals are commonplace. The amount of plastic items on the beaches is overwhelming. I'm not sure we can handle it anymore.
The wealthy Gulf countries are pulling laborers from the poorest parts of the world to build all kinds of infrastructure (In issue 37 of "Kwartalnik Fotografia" in 2011, we published Wierzbicki's article titled. "Indian Workers in the Middle East". - ed.). They work and live, to say the least, in rather spartan conditions.
An important part of this project is documenting abandoned workers' kampongs, where laborers from India, Pakistan or Bangladesh are usually placed at some major construction site. After the construction is completed, the kamp is abandoned and almost everything considered worthless is left behind. Everyday objects, food packaging or old documents. These are modern archaeological sites. They can sometimes be accurately disbursed by the items left behind, where often in addition to the origin, the date of manufacture is also indicated. An example is the abandoned camp where workers who were building a nearby shrimp farm lived between 2013 and 2015. The farm was also abandoned and now all that is left of it are half-buried pools of sand.
There were more abandoned roadside and small settlements where Asian workers serviced cars or sold basic products. Many of these places were abandoned during or immediately after the pandemic. This also shows the scale of the economic and social changes brought about by the Covid 19 pandemic. The hot wind and unmercifully harsh sun plus these vast spaces create a rather peculiar climate that is difficult for a European to imagine. Many of the places I photograph remind me of Richard Misrach's photographs. A natural cycle takes place, what man wanted to rip out of the desert comes back slowly under the sand. It's just a shame how much plastic the Homo Sapiens of the 21st century will leave behind.
Jerzy Wierzbicki's new photographs in the Middle East are still being made ...
Jerzy Wierzbicki - D. in the art of photography, archaeologist, winner of many photographic awards in Poland and abroad, former long-time photojournalist in Oman, currently a teacher of photography at the Scientific College of Design in Oman. He is a plenipotentiary of the editorial board of "Kwartalnik Fotografia" for the Middle East. He has been published in "BBC News", "Middle East Eye" or "Lens Magazine".
The article appeared in the printed KF 47
