Marco Garro
I first visited Cerro de Pasco, Peru’s oldest mining settlement, two decades ago and have returned many times. At 4,300 metres in the Andes, it sits atop rich mineral deposits that have fuelled centuries of mining, leaving deep environmental scars. An open-pit mine at its centre continues expanding, consuming surrounding neighbourhoods.
When I first arrived as a young photojournalist, the landscape resembled a battlefield. Families lived beside toxic waste, and many children suffered from stunted growth and illness. Health studies confirmed unsafe levels of heavy metals in residents’ blood, with limited medical care.
Quiulacocha is a visual essay using photographic alchemy to address mining’s impact in the world's most polluted places. After years documenting extraction, I began collecting mining tailings from Lake Quiulacocha, a former lake filled with toxic waste, and using them in the photographic development process. The resulting stains and textures echo exposure, making visible the human cost of mining.
Quiulacocha, 2022, Peru.
Panoramic of the Quiulacocha mining waste deposit, a former lake in Cerro of Pasco, Peru, 2022. For years, polluting mining waste was dumped, making it one of the largest and most dangerous environmental liabilities in Peru. Latest studies have found heavy metals such as aluminum, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, cobalt, copper, chrome, tin, iron, manganese, mercury, niquel, lead, selenium, zinc.
Quiulacocha is a visual project that uses photographic alchemy as a metaphor for the impact of mining on the health of the inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco, a city in the central Andes of Peru. The photographer, Marco Garro, collected samples of the mine tailings dumped into what was once Lake Quiulacocha and used them in the photographic developing process. The toxic liquid leaves marks and textures on the photographs that mimic the way contamination leaves its mark on life and the environment.
Quiulacocha, 2022, Peru.
Panoramic of the Quiulacocha mining waste deposit, a former lake in Cerro of Pasco, Peru, 2022. For years, polluting mining waste was dumped, making it one of the largest and most dangerous environmental liabilities in Peru. Latest studies have found heavy metals such as aluminum, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, cobalt, copper, chrome, tin, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, zinc.
Quiulacocha is a visual project that uses photographic alchemy as a metaphor for the impact of mining on the health of the inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco, a city in the central Andes of Peru. The photographer, Marco Garro, collected samples of the mine tailings dumped into what was once Lake Quiulacocha and used them in the photographic developing process. The toxic liquid leaves marks and textures on the photographs that mimic the way contamination leaves its mark on life and the environment.
Quiulacocha, 2022, Peru.
Juan Panez collects water from one of the leaks in the mine pipes that pass through his house near the Quiulacocha mining waste deposit in Cerro de Pasco. The city of Cerro de Pasco does not have a quality and continuous drinking water system for human consumption. For years, reports and testimonies have indicated that the water from Cerro de Pasco is not suitable for human consumption.
Quiulacocha is a visual project that uses photographic alchemy as a metaphor for the impact of mining on the health of the inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco, a city in the central Andes of Peru. The photographer, Marco Garro, collected samples of the mine tailings dumped into what was once Lake Quiulacocha and used them in the photographic developing process. The toxic liquid leaves marks and textures on the photographs that mimic the way contamination leaves its mark on life and the environment.
Quiulacocha, 2022, Peru.
View of the city of Cerro de Pasco. Quiulacocha is a visual project that uses photographic alchemy as a metaphor for the impact of mining on the health of the inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco, a city in the central Andes of Peru. The photographer, Marco Garro, collected samples of the mine tailings dumped into what was once Lake Quiulacocha and used them in the photographic developing process. The toxic liquid leaves marks and textures on the photographs that mimic the way contamination leaves its mark on life and the environment.
Quiulacocha, 2022, Peru.
Farmen with his ships next to Quiulacocha lake. Quiulacocha is a visual project that uses photographic alchemy as a metaphor for the impact of mining on the health of the inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco, a city in the central Andes of Peru. The photographer, Marco Garro, collected samples of the mine tailings dumped into what was once Lake Quiulacocha and used them in the photographic developing process. The toxic liquid leaves marks and textures on the photographs that mimic the way contamination leaves its mark on life and the environment.
Quiulacocha, 2022, Peru.
Many animals feed on pastures that receive contaminants. Quiulacocha is a visual project that uses photographic alchemy as a metaphor for the impact of mining on the health of the inhabitants of Cerro de Pasco, a city in the central Andes of Peru. The photographer, Marco Garro, collected samples of the mine tailings dumped into what was once Lake Quiulacocha and used them in the photographic developing process. The toxic liquid leaves marks and textures on the photographs that mimic the way contamination leaves its mark on life and the environment.