May 1 – 31, 2012
Opening: Saturday, May 5, 2–4 p.m.
BAU-XI PHOTO
340 Dundas St. West
Toronto, Ontario, M5T 1G5
T: 416.977.0600
E: toronto@bau-xi.com
www.bau-xiphoto.com
Hours: Mon-Sat 10–5:30, Sun 11–5:30
Fordlandia: The Lost City of Henry Ford
Part of CONTACT, 2012
Fordlandia is the first in the series ‘Megalomania’. This series of photographs, completed in October 2011, reveals what has become of Fordlandia, the American town built in the Brazilian rainforest by infamous tycoon Henr y Ford. Today, the town is a postindustrial wasteland, complete with sidewalks and fire hydrants, prefabricated industrial sheds from Michigan and American clapper board houses. More curious still is that, in spite of no new economy or employer in the area, Fordlandia is coming back to life, and in recent years the population has risen from a few hundred to two thousand. Alongside the graveyards of metal machine sheds and a hospital being ingested by the rainforest, there are houses being restored, a well tended graveyard, and the Ford-built schoolhouse is full.The giant water tower, still one the largest structures in the Amazon, is gleaming like an alien rocket.
The world followed Fordism in industry with great interest in the twentieth century. As Fordlandia is rediscovered, it provides the opportunity to reflect on Fordism in the jungle, and discover the project that ushered in the new epoch of American imperialism and the forefathers of today’s multinationals committing ecocide with impunity. Hubris fuelled Ford’s project, and after the company left, hubris remains.
Dan Dubowitz has exhibited internationally and has been the subject of numerous publications, including three books, titled “Wastelands,” “Fascismo Abbandonato,” and “After the Occupation”.