📸 Photo series #2: The aluminium slaves of Madagascar
11 captivating photos that unveil the intriguing world behind the scenes of our exquisite aluminum objects.
Hello fellow readers 👋,
Welcome to the second edition of our photo newsletter. A warm welcome to all our new subscribers!
We are thrilled to bring you another captivating photo story crafted by a talented photographer with a unique blend of Italian and German influences. Join us on a photo documentary journey to Madagascar that sheds light on the challenging working conditions that some individuals endure.
Make yourself comfortable with a good coffee and enjoy the photo story! ✨
Photo story #2 by Pia Parolin
⏱️ Reading time: 6 min
Aluminium slaves
In Madagascar, the city of Ambatolampy is renowned for its aluminium manufactures. Tourists are brought there by travel companies in order to buy beautiful shiny aluminium items. Those tourists who are not too scared are allowed to walk inside the manufactures and watch the local people at work. Young men and teenage boys make their living by melting old metal parts. These are collected all over the country and brought to this city.
As everywhere in Madagascar, people use charcoal to make fires. Here they use it to melt the metal, once they took the motor blocks or metal barriers apart. They put the metal parts into barren pots and melt them. Then they carry the pots with the melted metal into the roofed houses and pour it into the moulds they prepared beforehand, with clay, sand and wood. There are no safety precautions whatsoever, these men handle the liquid aluminium with their bare hands. They pour it into simple forms next to their bare feet. In the twilight, the remnants of horrible wounds can be perceived on their skin. At the end of the day, electricity is turned off by grabbing the naked cable from the contact.
All day long they breathe the dust and pollution, from early childhood on. The manufactures are presented as a romantic old-fashioned form of work to the naive tourist. Does the tourist question whether these people have an alternative in life? Does he wonder if their happy and proud expressions and smiles are congruent with their life expectancy? Is he aware that the revenues of the sacrifices of these young men flow into the pockets of rich people in the capital or overseas?
Slavery has been abolished officially many decades ago, all around the globe, but in practice, it is still a daily truth in many poor countries. And the people still smile. With this series, I want to document the life of these workers whom I visited twice during my stay in Madagascar in August 2019.
Written and shot by Pia Parolin.
Photo prints are available for sale: photo@piaparolin.com
Who’s behind the lens?
Describe yourself as a photographer
I have been a photographer since I was a kid, and my photos are full of colour. I like to document what happens around me and try to show the beauty of life. In sad periods of my life, I use black and white and make conceptual photos. But normally I just take my camera and walk around. I focus on the little details of everyday life, and try to find the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Your favorite camera and lens
I have several favourite cameras, depending on what I photograph. Most of the time I walk around with small cameras and a wide angle. I like cameras that make me invisible: people do not care for me and see me as a tourist, so I can get close without disturbing the scene. I use: Leica Q2 / Ricoh GR III / iPhone 11 pro / Olympus OM-D EM5-II / Fujifilm X100F
The last place you shot
I spent three weeks in Western Australia, and most of the time in the city of Perth, which has wonderful light and beautiful scenes. But I love to shoot next door, just outside of my house or the place I have to be for work, even in a lunch break.
Your favorite moment of the day to shoot
In street photography, the time of the day makes a big difference because people are present or not, and light is strong or not. Usually, I like it when the cities are crowded and people are relaxed, so I often go out in the afternoon.
But the most important factor for me to decide when to photograph is that I do not feel the pressure of having to rush. Therefore, the timing and my schedule are important for my photography. I need to know I have the time and can play around like a child.
Portfolio and/or social media links
Portfolio: https://www.piaparolin.com
Instagram, Facebook: @piaparolinphoto
Youtube Pia’s Journey: https://www.youtube.com/@piaparolin
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