As children, we have a simple perception of waste: rubbish disappears into the bin, keeping our rooms clean. Upon adulthood, this concept becomes more complex and imbued with economic, social, and ecological implications. Waste then becomes more than a matter of hygiene; it turns into a crossroads of economy, ecology, and social justice.

Aàdesokan’s ideas confront us with this reality, inviting us to reflect on how waste, a by-product of our consumer society, forms identities and social structures. His project Waste Identities sheds light on the ways in which these themes are intertwined and challenges us to reconsider our own perceptions and assumptions about waste critically.

Waste is a product of social classification systems: what we consider waste is that which does not fit within our ordered system. As British anthropologist Mary Douglas (1921-2007) formulated: 'dirt is matter out of place'. Douglas emphasises in her work the way 'dirt' or 'waste' are defined within different cultures.

When we apply this view to migration, we see that those migrants, like waste, are often pushed to the periphery because they do not fit within the existing social structures. Migrants are moved, ignored, and neglected because they are seen as 'matter out of place'. This illustrates a deeply rooted problem in our society where we classify and move things—and people—based on their presumed value.

Aàdesokan’s project reflects the injustices of the way we deal with migrants, who are treated like waste. The art world has a long history of objectifying marginalised groups for aesthetic or conceptual purposes, often without the involved people deriving any benefit from it. This can lead to the exploitation of their situations for profit or artistic prestige, which ethically can be very problematic.

In Waste Identities, the people who process waste are anonymised. This anonymity has a fundamental ethical meaning: Aàdesokan protects their individual identities and thereby reduces the 'violence' inherent in photography. At the same time, the anonymity underscores the universal nature of the problems around waste processing, emphasises collective responsibility. Anonymous waste workers become symbols for the broader problem of waste processing and consumer culture.

Waste Identities offers the viewer a valuable lens through which we can look at the complex issues associated with waste processing and consumer culture, leading us to a deeper reflection on the systemic and social structures underlying our relationship with waste.

This text is an excerpt of an article written by Aya Musa about Aàdesokan’s project Waste Identity, originally published in Foam Magazine 64, Extremes, in 2023.

AÁDESOKAN research is driven by ongoing psychological reflection on the self and its environment: “I create for revelation and inciting change. My aim is to build fellowship around visual impulses that interrogate the mind and its perceptions. While navigating structures of attention, I propose thought experiments on ways of being within evolving spaces.” Through writing, photography, and video, Aàdesokan maps the many forms of our waste identities.

AYA MUSA is a curator at Foam. Prior to this, he was a curator and head programmer at the Nederlands Fotomuseum. In his work, Aya combines social developments with new exhibition forms, where photography is not subordinate to the context from which it arises, but at the same time never loses sight of this context. In this way, he gives photography a stage that goes beyond existing clichés. Since 2001, he has combined his work in the Netherlands with empirical ethnographic research into the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent. Currently, Aya is studying the photographic representation of victims of sectarian violence in the region.