The Unseen Essential Workers - 2020 - Photography, Video & Sound

This is a photography and video project, which intends to draw light to the unseen essential workers who have been working in the forests in Catalonia during the Covid-19 pandemic and how it has and will affect them. Spain has been one of the hardest hit countries during the pandemic and it is the third country in Europe with the most forestland. Forests make up more than 60% of Catalonia’s surface alone. 

It’s an issue that should be documented to have a better grasp of how the pandemic has affected all walks of life.

All forestry work is considered essential. The work of forest workers supplies the raw materials necessary to produce some of the essential products we ignore or take for granted but that are needed, directly or indirectly, on a daily basis.The raw materials extracted from the forests are needed to produce some of the things most might consider un-essential such as pallets. 

However pallets came into high demand at the start of the lockdown as they are needed to transport food and medicine products from factories to their final destinations. Pellets for biomass is another product produced from forest wood for which demand decreased drastically as well as exports which were limited due to country travel restrictions. Paper, a more common forest wood product increased in demand. Fire prevention workflow was also affected by the pandemic.

My goal is to draw attention to these under represented unseen essential workers, highlight their work and explore the issues created by the Covid-19 pandemic in this community