What will remain after me

30 November 2019

Russia – July, 2019. Danila, 16. Plastic bags, expanded polystyrene, foil plastic, tetra packs, thermal film, green glass, metal cover, polypropylene packaging, high-density polyethylene, napkin, unmarked plastic, cotton fiber, a slice of ice cream.

It is terrible to disappear – I want to leave a mark. Something weighty, eternal. Is it possible? The world has become a supermarket; things are disposable; people are consumers. Our main ability is purchasing. Everyone dreams of developing this talent. Is not it so? To afford even more. Humanity annually produces more than 2 billion tons of waste. It seems that we leave behind only trash. The irony is that it is immortal. I decided to make a generalized “consumer portrait”, using the garbage of heroes as a metaphor. First, I took pictures of the garbage itself and made masks from photographs. Then I shot masked heroes and talked to them about consumerism and the waste problem. Is there a problem?

Russia – June, 2019. Valeriy, 32. Foil plastic, cardboard, paper, laminated cardboard, banana peel, hair.

Russia – July, 2019. Catherine, 41. Foil plastic, unmarked plastic, thermal film, stretch film, paper with plastic lamination, laminated cardboard, orange peel.

Russia – August, 2019. Larisa, 49. Tetra packs, non-woven synthetic fabric, PVC, cardboard with lamination, plastic bags, plant leaf.

Russia – September, 2019. Valentin, 86. Rags, foil plastic, cardboard, polyethylene, coffee, plant elements.

Russia – September, 2019. Kseniya, 22. Foil plastic, Funmarked plastic, non-woven synthetic fabric, wire, napkins, cardboard with plastic lamination, paper.

Russia – August, 2019. Sergey, 62. Cardboard, plastic bags, unmarked plastic, paper with plastic lamination, foil plastic, polypropylene, paper, sausage casing.

Russia – July, 2019. Kseniya, 25. Rubber glove, synthetic sponge, stretch film, unmarked plastic, laminated cardboard, leftovers, shrimps peelings, hair.

Russia – August, 2019. Marina, 28. Unmarked plastic, plastic mix packaging, thermal paper, fish paring, shells, peach, carrots, glove.

Russia – September, 2019. Alexander, 30. Polypropylene packaging, tetra pack, high-density polyethylene, polystyrene jar, cardboard, foil, unmarked plastic.

Russia – September, 2019. Kseniya, 31. Paper, paper napkins, thermal paper, multilayer glued cardboard, plastic mix packaging, cardboard with plastic lamination, unmarked plastic.

Russia – September, 2019. Tatyana, 59. Polystyrene, napkins, diaper, paper with plastic lamination, polyethylene, foil plastic, coffee, melon peel, cherry pits, dead plant.

Irina Heinz

Irina Heinz — photographer and artist from St. Petersburg, graduated from St. Petersburg State University with a degree in Culture and Literature of Foreign Countries, a student at the Academy of Documentary Photography and Photojournalism «Fotografika». Works with themes of consumerism, ecology, new concepts of human development, memory, feeling of generation.

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