The Pleasure Of His Company

Alfredo Jaar

Geography = War, 1991

Duratrans, light boxes, 55 gallon metal barrels, and water

Alfredo Jaar’s photographic installation refers to an incident that took place in Koko, Nigeria in 1987 and 1988. Five Italian tankers carrying toxic waste arrived in Koko during that time period. A farmer was asked to store the barrels for $100 a month.  He agreed not knowing that the barrels marked with hazardous symbols were full of toxic materials.  Unaware of the threat these materials posed, local villagers emptied some of the barrels and used the large drums for food containers.  The contents also seeped into the water supply. Some barrels even exploded in the heat. Villagers had chemical burns, and illness and death spread through the village as a result of these actions.  Jaar was in Nigeria in 1989, and took photographs of children rummaging in the trash of a garbage dump. These images are powerfully displayed with the help of 55 gallon barrels filled with water and suspended light boxes. The photographs are seen by viewing the reflections in the water-filled barrels. As the viewer peers into the barrels to see the photographs, he or she also sees his or her own reflection. Alredo Jaar seems to be asking each of us to confront our own role in societal injustices.

this information is shared by: George Grimaldis