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Apr 30, 2011

"What I would really like to do is to be able to change the lives of a group of people, with the same materials they deal with everyday." --Vik Muniz

Portraits of Hope

In the world's largest garbage dump, Artist Vik Muniz finds beauty in resilience, art in compassion. Returning to his native Brazil, he finds himself along the outskirts of Rio de Jeneiro, amidst the garbage pickers of the Jardim Gramacho landfill. Determined to help, Muniz creates wildly creative, intimate portraits of the garbage pickers to sell back in New York. All the money earned goes to his subjects. "Think about what you are going to do when you get out of Jardim Gramacho," he tells one woman from behind the camera lens. Her hard stare cracks into a smile.