For his United Soya Republic project, photographer Jordi Ruiz Cirera studied the soya industry in South America and its effect on local communities. He invites us to look through his lens in the first edition of our new programme, called Scoop.
The recent forest fires in the Amazon region in Brazil have once again drawn attention to the soya industry in South America. Jordi Ruiz Cirera captures the effects of intensive agriculture on the landscape and local communities. In the process, he illuminates the issue from various perspectives: from landowners and labourers to unemployed farmers and people affected by poisonous pesticides. The photographer shows us a world of deforestation, migration, environmental pollution, unemployment and social unrest.
At the centre of his work is the inequality between people and how this inequality is exacerbated by the global demand for food and the choices made by consumers all over the world. What can we do as consumers? How can we make more conscious choices?
Artist Yair Callender from The Hague will discuss this subject with Jordi. What can the public learn and discover by looking through the photographer’s lens? And what does the photographer learn from the audience’s view?
Musician Fons Parlevliet from The Hague drew inspiration from Jordi’s photographs. Interpreting the theme in musical style, he starts and ends this Scoop with numbers of his own as well as covers.
Scoop stands for showcasing new stories and music. Photographers and musicians share work still in development, letting you see their work in a new way. In each edition, artist Yair Callender talks to photographers from all over the world who address social questions through their work. Scoop is a collaboration between Humanity House, Popradar Den Haag and Docking Station.
Speakers & artists
Jordi Ruiz Cirera is an independent documentary photographer and filmmaker. He focuses on long-term projects in which he spotlights the effects of globalization on small communities and offers insight into how they adapt. Since relocating to Mexico City, he has documented migration problems on the American continent.
Fons Parlevliet is a musician from The Hague with a preference for reggae and ska. He writes his own numbers but also likes to play covers from a wide-ranging repertoire, from Bob Marley to Doe Maar. Fons performs at both smaller venues and big festivals like Parkpop. With his music he wants to touch people’s hearts and, especially, let them dance.
Yair Callender is an artist from The Hague. He makes sculptures and other spatial works, some of them monumental and others at the intersection of autonomous work and furniture. Underpinning his art is his exploration of spiritual and symbolic ornaments and shapes. What is the inherent meaning of shapes that go beyond aesthetic value?
Docking Station is a photography platform that aims to charge socially relevant photography projects with new expertise so that they reach a wider audience. It invites young, international photographers to work on their project for a month in the Netherlands and come into contact with a large network of creatives and other experts.
During this first edition of Scoop, a professional photographer will take pictures of the event for promotional purposes.