2024-11-13 12:00:00
Image source, Andreas Billmann
- Author, William Marquez
- Author’s title, BBC News World
2 hours
“We have a region where hope and economic potential are rising, in contrast to rising inflation in the country. And what you start to wonder is: Which will go up faster?”
This is the paradox that Andreas Billman explores in his photography project that documented Argentina’s Vaca Muerta region, one of the world’s largest shale oil and gas reserves, representing vast growth potential, as the country struggled against a known specter: inflation.
The images were taken over a year, starting in December 2021, in a period of rampant inflation, before the election of President Javier Milei, who managed to reduce it during his term.
However,
In his photographic essay, published in the book “Vaca Muerta en Ascenso”, each image bears the date it was taken. Pages are not traditionally numbered 1, 2, 3, etc. but with the inflation rate corresponding to the date each photo was taken.
Billman carefully analyzed real data released by Argentine authorities and, with the help of others, designed a formula to reflect the country’s inflationary rise, marking the first photo taken as 0.0%.
From then on, each photo refers to a different inflation rate.
photo caption, 0.0% — 16_12_2021 is the title of the first photo taken by Andreas Billman, which marks the beginning of his project and the starting point of recording inflation.photo caption, 2.8% — 01/08/2022. Vaca muerte has the potential to transform Argentina into a major global energy producer.
He decided to focus his lens on Vaca Muerta because she had often been in the news as the next (ironically) “cash cow” or “gold mine” with the potential to transform Argentina into a major energy producerand that was part of what intrigued him.
“One: it was always in the news, two: the region hadn’t been well documented, and three: it was the landscape that intrigued me: human-altered landscapes,” he tells BBC News Mundo.
“My art fits into what is known as new topography” says Billman, describing a style that was implemented in the United States in the mid-1970s. “It’s almost the opposite of traditional landscapes, like those of Patagonia with its rich postcard nature.”
His photos come from unusual places, apparently unimportant. “Desolate, arid, even ugly landscapes. Like the dead cow. There’s nothing there.”
He points out, however, that the site has very deep back stories. “I like to photograph something that people don’t want to see, but that intrigues them and keeps them coming back again and
photo caption, 103.2% — 01/13/2023. Some of Billman’s photos highlight the desolate landscape…photo caption, 103.6% — 14_01_2023… but also the contrasts.
When he started the project, he had no idea what story he wanted to tell, confesses the photographer. It was only after returning home with the images he had taken for a year that he began to see them with different eyes.
It was inspired by a photographic work by the Frenchman Guillaume Herbaut in Chernobylthe atomic power plant in Ukraine where one of the worst nuclear disasters occurred in 1986. Herbaut printed on each image the radiation level recorded at that moment in the place where he had taken it.
This gave him the idea of using some real information to influence how an image is perceived.
“I thought, I have all these photos, but what is everyday life in Argentina, the almost chronic disease that is ingrained in people’s lives: it’s inflation,” Billman says.
He inserted inflation data into his photos to tell the story of two things that were changing at the same time: a region that could change the country’s fortunes and that is a typical example of the richness of its natural resources, against a number that hangs like an overwhelming cloud and is also a typical example of the behavior of its economy.
“It’s a narrative that tries to reflect that complexity, where economic potential meets economic reality“, he expresses.
photo caption, 105.9% — 01_20_2023
Image source, Andreas Billmann
photo caption, 107.5% — 01_24_2023
Billman does not infer a direct relationship between his images and the inflation figure, but he claims that it is an opportunity to see the inflation rate from another perspective.
“It’s usually presented as a graphic in the news and becomes a clichéd image that loses meaning over time,” he says.
“My photos are really calm, peaceful. But the fact that there is a figure that says 21% or 102% is something that makes you see the photo differently. It takes on a meaning of its own.”
Image source, Andreas Billmann
photo caption, 102.1% — 01_10_2023
A year later, Andreas Billman returned to take images of some of the sites he had photographed. Even if you compare inflation data in one photo and another, the places record subtle changes which leaves it up to the viewer’s interpretation.
When comparing two photos of the same place there may be an extra crack in the road or less vegetation. In another couple in a cemetery we see that more urns have been occupied with the increase in deaths, but no metal construction structure has advanced.
“In a way it reflects the absence of progress,” he observes, reinforcing the paradoxical theme of his photo essay.
But he leaves the two photos that define his plan for the end of his book. They come from the same building. The first photo has a leafy tree in front. When you turn the page there is the next photo, without the tree.
Image source, Andreas Billmann
photo caption, 110.7% — 02_01_2023. The same facade seen from above a year later and a very high inflation rate.
“Dead cow rising” it was finalist of the 2023 Wolf Suschitzky Photography Prizedelivered by the Austrian Cultural Forum in London.
The project generated different reactions. Some people in Argentina have criticized his work as praise for oil companies, but the other side of the coin is the demonstration of resilience and versatility of the Argentine people
He says that people who are not Argentinians are surprised by this ability to survive, saying that they could not cope with such a fluctuating and volatile economy.
“In any case, I try not to make my work biased,” he says. “I photograph what I see.”
This text appears to be a segment from a BBC article discussing the work of photographer Andreas Billmann. His photography focuses on how inflation impacts society and environments, providing a visual representation of inflation rates alongside peaceful imagery that contrasts with the sometimes alarming statistics.
Key points from the text include:
- Perspective on Inflation: Billmann aims to offer a different perspective on inflation, suggesting that traditional representations in news media can become clichéd and lose their impact over time. By contrasting serene images with stark inflation figures, he encourages viewers to interpret the photos in light of the economic context.
- Subtle Changes Over Time: He photographs the same locations at different times, highlighting subtle changes that may reflect larger societal trends, such as increased mortality or lack of infrastructural progress.
- Notable Photography: The text describes specific images from Billmann, including a red-painted wall with a red ribbon and landscapes showing the absence of flora or urban development. One poignant comparison involves a single tree in front of a building, which is missing in a subsequent photo, symbolizing change or loss.
- Artistic Statement: Billmann’s work challenges viewers to reflect on the implications of these changes and the realities of living amid economic instability, reinforcing the themes of absence and stagnation.
Billmann’s photo essays serve as a contemplative examination of the relationship between visual art and economic realities, pushing audiences to engage with the implications of inflation through imagery.