The Poverty Line
2010 – Ongoing.
The Poverty Line uses the universal lens of food to examine the daily choices we would face living at the poverty line. Since 2010, the artists have traveled more than 200,000 kilometers to create case studies of 38 countries and territories spanning six continents.
Each country’s figure uses the official poverty definition to derive a per-person, per-day rate. For middle- and high-income economies, the average low-income household food expenditure is taken into account, while for low-income economies, the entire daily income of a poor individual is used. According to the granted sum of money, food is bought in local marketplaces. Every food group is included: vegetables, fruits, starchy foods, protein, and snacks. Each product is photographed on a local newspaper from the day of the shoot. Dimensions and lighting are carefully determined, in order to express identical aesthetics over time and geographical breakdown. This typological method enables a singular interpretation of the picture, while relating details of each one to the rest of the corpus. The food items were selected on the basis of finding common products available in many of the economies covered in the project and highlight the globalization of food production and consumption.
Individual portraits are taken of food using a dramatic spotlight effect to highlight the existence of everyday items in our lives. The work draws on the spirit of classical still-life paintings but approaches the topic with contemporary realism.
Newspapers form the monotonous backdrops crowded with headlines screaming for attention. This reflects our incessant obsession with information, but in a format whose relevance is called into question with the rise of digital media. This seismic shift in information dissemination has impacted its accessibility in a connected and distracted civilization.
The Poverty Line is a growing conversation that questions our understanding of poverty and inequality. Traversing cultures and economic systems, it confronts the viewer with objective, non-emotional observations of our own circumstance, framed against the fragile balance of social structures, growth, and divide in an entangled, globalized world.
