Sulfur mining is one of the most hard and dangerous works in the world. The miners works inside the crater of volcano Ijen (East Java), break the cooled sulfur into large pieces and carry it away in baskets and trolleys. Miners carry loads ranging from 75 kilograms to 90 kilograms, up 300 meters to the crater rim, with a gradient of 45 to 60 degrees and then 3 kilometers down the mountain for weighing. For that they earn about 10$ per working day. They usually work without any proper protection, breathe sulfur poisonous fumes, that cause numerous respiratory afflictions. In the past 40 years, 74 miners have died after being overpowered by fumes. The heroes of that story are: Murakse, Matravi, Suyanto, Andre, Marguri, Kontolirang, Tasaripan and Ahmad.
Lena Tsibizova is Moscow based photographer, born in 1988 in Moscow, Russia. She has graduated from British higher school of art and design in Moscow in photography course of Uriy Palmin, Institute of Contemporary Art also in Moscow.
Website: cargocollective.com/lenatsibizova
