Ha Shult's Trash People arrive in Matera.

The monumental installation Trash People by artist Ha Shult (Hans-Jürgen Schult; Parchim, 1939) invades the European Capital of Culture from Aug. 25. Thus, the 1,000 Trash People, the community of ’garbage men,’ the anthropomorphic sculptures created by the German artist, make a surprise return after more than 10 years since their sudden appearance in Rome’s Piazza del Popolo.

Ha Shult is credited with the imposing image of the Trash People, which since their first appearance in the city of Xanten in Germany have traversed the world, from the Pyramids of Giza to the Great Wall, passing through the Cities and most famous squares (from the Red Square in Moscow to the Piazza del Popolo in Rome, to the Grand Place in Brussels, and again from the Cathedral Square in Cologne to the Defense in Paris, to the Arctic Circle, passing by the Alps and the Matterhorn). A very well-organized community of mocking ’tourists,’ the Trash People: their DNA is made up of old cans, trash in general, plastics and bottles, detergent containers, rusty cans, car parts, body or mechanical parts, computers and any other object produced on a large scale by world industry. A journey without borders like real pollution, here represented by ’tourists’ without passports, just like waste, that the human community abandons on the Planet. A seemingly spirited and picturesque return to Italy that does not hide the reasons for great concern, as Fabio Di Gioia, the event’s Italian Curator, points out:

“The image of Matera, of the sassi, of a place unique in the world for its beauty and history suggested, especially with the spotlight on European culture, the possibility of relaunching a stern and important warning, and to do so, however, through art. That of the Trash People is a presence with a double face, cheerful and at the same time disturbing. It reflects the fact that, unfortunately, the most magical places on the Planet have all been reached by human pollution, the bottoms of the seas, the perennial ice, even beyond our skies there is talk of a conspicuous presence of space trash. It is the hidden face of what we call progress.”

Starting Aug. 25, the Trash People will show themselves in the Sassi, starting at the monastic complex of St. Augustine, surprisingly they will later appear, united or scattered by groups, as visitors at various points of interest in the city. Trash People ’s return ticket is for late October, and until then it will be possible to come across, be photographed and capture images of Ha Schult’s installations while visiting the city. At the opening events on Aug. 24 and 25, prominent international art historians and critics will comment on the works and installation.

“Not all 1,000 Trash People will return home,” Fabio Di Gioia continues. “Twenty of them, the ’Matera People,’ are part of a special edition that the artist intended to make with the powders of the famous tuff and millennia-old stone for the occasion, won over by the city and the creative energy that the setting of the sassi has conveyed to him, and collectors have already purchased almost all of them.”

“As is always the case,” the Curator notes again, “the public is fascinated and takes an impressive amount of selfies and photographs. Such was the case with the ’occupation’ of Piazza del Popolo in 2007, which took place in a single night. The installation was kept in secret until the day of the event. Romans suddenly woke up to their city living room overrun with trash, but it was Art. Today, 12 years later, the trash invasion was really there.”

TRASH PEOPLE 2019, in Matera, is sponsored by the Matera Basilicata 2019 Foundation and the Municipality. It was made possible by the participation of major international companies and forItaly, in particular by Conai - Consorzio Nazionale Imballaggi, which is particularly committed to the legal targets for the recovery and recycling of packaging waste; Cisa Spa, a company specializing in environmentally friendly disposal and able to transform waste into bioenergy; and Betafin Spa, a local company operating in the public health sector and level distribution.

For more information you can visit www.materatrashpeople.it.

Ha Shult's Trash People arrive in Matera.

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