The Continuing Story of the Unnatural Disaster of Mariana, MG

Created as a response to the 2015 dam collapse in the city of Mariana, Brazil, and the subsequent disaster that followed, as well as its lasting consequences across the country, this panel combines painting, drawing and printmaking, in an attempt to unravel the complex narrative surrounding the environmental crime that was committed, where, due to negligence of multimillion dollar mining company Vale, a key mining dam in the area collapsed, drowning surrounding towns in mud. The panel illustrates the impact of the disaster, the never ending challenges the victims face until this date, as they continue displaced and gaslighted by the multimillionaire corporation that changed their lives forever.

The repercussions of this disaster are still felt today: The Rio Doce river has been permanently polluted with toxic sludge, which continues to poison local families living along  the 853 kilometers of its length, and causing immeasurable damage to both the local and global ecosystem.

The lead-up to the event carries morbid and bitter poetry. A mining megacorp was the one to knock over the first domino; the greed-fueled negligence of modern capitalism fuses itself with a colonial past that never really left, the very same river having been plagued with years of predatory gold mining. This tragic tale, decades in the making, coming to a close drowned amidst a dense current of mud, dredging old, deep-set mercury and heavy metals, used during the imperial times, back to the surface of Rio Doce.

With biblical proportions, too immeasurable to be adequately conveyed through words, this humanitarian crisis highlights the symbiotic relationship of nature, history, politics and people.

Special thanks to Felipe Hotta, human’s rights lawyer acting on behalf of hundreds of thousands of victims of the Mariana disaster against BHP Plc and BHP Ltd in the English courts for the last three years and Letícia Artuso, researcher in sustainability studies for FGVces (Fundação Getulio Vargas Centro de Estudos em Sustentabilidade).

You can support the community affected by this disaster by donating to Jornal A Sirene, a newspaper focused on amplifying the voices of the victims, produced by the victims themselves.