Toby Binder (Germany)
Title: Untitled from Conflict-Free Mining in Eastern Congo series
Medium: C-type prints
Date of work: 2020
Dimensions: 20” x 16” framed
Description:
The extraction of raw materials has driven mankind through the ages, but especially since the industrial revolution, and our approach to addressing the negative ramifications will have a significant impact on all of our futures. Industrialized nations import much of their metallic and energetic raw materials from developing countries where workers risk their health and often their lives for very little pay, resulting in extreme human rights violations as well as environmental devastation. This photograph depicts a child laborer in the mining industry in the Eastern Congo.
Toby Binder is a socially committed documentary photographer who focuses on underprivileged and marginalized communities, often representing the perspective of young people. Binder’s important work has been celebrated internationally, with a Gomma Grant and LensCulture Award in 2020, the Zeke- and Felix-Schoeller-Award in 2019, the Philip-Jones-Griffiths-Award in 2018, the Sony-World-Photo-Awards and the Nannen-Preis in 2017, to name a few.