1001 tons project

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Project

Every year in Luxembourg, 1001 tons of material is tossed or dumped as litter – that’s an average of 1,6 kilograms per inhabitant, with 216 kilograms of litter per kilometer strewn along the motorways and 103 kilograms per kilometer by the side of the country’s smaller roads. Cleaning this up costs the country 1,2 million Euros per year. The number 1001 may sound like a tale reminding us of the dreamy stories of our childhood but in this story, it is a reality.

With my camera I have been capturing all the junk that people leave behind: from the bathtubs they dump in the forest to the rubbish they leave behind after an outdoor barbecue to the cigarette butts and cans they toss out of car windows. While shooting this I have been trying to figure out why people do this, why people seem to have so little respect for the environment. I had countless meetings with people dealing professionally with the issue, did research into the numbers, the psychology, and the daily reality of littering and the fight against it.

To create awareness about this issue I created a book and an exhibition, a campaign along the highways and organize a Take Action Day as well as a travelling exhibition for schoolchildren around the country. The project is also included in the Esch2022 European Capital of Culture.

In 2022, together with 10 PRO-SUD municipalities, and 8 municipalities in France, in the Communauté de Communes Pays Haut Val l’Alzette (CCPHVA), Esch-Alzette, Luxembourg’s second largest city, will be European Capital of Culture. Each year this label is awarded to a different city or area within the European Union.

Jessica Theis

Pictures

Events

March – December 2022:

Urban exhibition in Esch-sur-Alzette, Schifflange, Bettembourg and Pétange.

July – September 2022:

Campaign along the highways

Collaboration with d’Ëmweltverwaltung

24.06 – 17.07.2022 exhibition:

24.06 opening 14-22h
24.06 book launch 19h

24.06 – 26.06 / 01.07 – 03.07 / 08.07 – 10.07 / 15.07 – 17.07 (14-19h)

Bâtiment IV, 66 rue de Luxembourg L-4149 Esch-sur-Alzette

25.06.2022 Take action day:

with: AKABO, BENU Village Esch, CELL – Centre for ecological learning Luxembourg, Centre Formida, Julie Conrad Design Studio, d’Ëmweltverwaltung, eschington_trashington, Fair Fashion Revolution, Fairtrade Lëtzebuerg, Imprimerie Centrale, Lycée des Arts et Métiers, reckel2022, OUNI, Pick it up, Pro Sud Minett Unesco Biosphere, Bonzënnen Bonzuewen, Potty Lotty, SIVEC, SNJ Hollenfels, SuperDrecksKëscht, Sustained, Transition Minett, Transition Uelzechtdall
11-19h
Bâtiment IV, 66 rue de Luxembourg L-4149 Esch-sur-Alzette

20.06/29.06/06.07/12.07 waste collections:

Collaboration with Pickitup and Eschington Trashington.

20.06 Esch-sur-Alzette

29.06 Bettembourg

06.07 Pétange

12.07 Schifflange

From 15.09.2022:

Travelling exhibition with artistic and educational workshops for schoolchildren arround the country.

Collaboration with SCRIPT and Oeuvre Grande-Duchesse Charlotte.

About me

Hello,

I’m Jessica Theis, independant photographer since 2005 and project leader of two projects as part of Esch2022 European Capital of Culture, 1001 Tons and Spieglein Spieglein.

Born in Luxembourg in 1981, like so many I got my first camera for my first communion. What started as a hobby quickly developped into a real passion. Quite early it became clear that this was to become my profession. After graduating I went to study Photo-design in Germany, started working as freelance photo assistant in Cologne and returned to Luxembourg in 2005 to work as an independent photographer.

www.jess.lu