Rio Doce 1 | Desenhos / Drawings | 64x96 cm / 25x38 in | Novembro 2015

These are drawings based on the biggest environmental disaster that has occurred in Brasil early november of 2015. Two sludge dams from an ore mine have collapsed sending millions of cubic feet of mud, arsenic, iron ore, mercury and other lethal chemicals down the Rio Doce, Sweet River, 1000 kilometers downstream into the sea. Millions were affected, 13 people died instantly, more than 11 are still missing. Nearby cities were evacuated through the solidarity of their citizens. There were no sirens or alarms installed on the dams to warn people. Government officials showed up two weeks later and flew over the disaster area to assess the damage. In a legal manouver goverment officials declared dam burting as a natural disaster and fined the Vale company in US$ 66 million dollars. The damage will last for at least a decade. Two other dams are on the verge of bursting.