The Zone

Dogs shitting, an often sighted picture in any place where humans live together with their best friends. Although other countries might have different solutions for our pet’s excretions. I found it interesting at the least when I found out about a law in the Netherlands that allows dog owners to not pick up the shit of their dogs in specific areas, which I call “Zones” for this project.

In these areas so-called “poep zuigers” dutch for “poop vacuums” drive around the city to get rid of just mentioned feces. I found out about this in my last room where I had the misfortune or luck to have a view on one of the Zones. In my research in online forums, I read several people’s stories and opinions that these little cars weren’t doing anything or not enough. 

For two months I shot pictures of dogs shitting and people using the green space. From children playing on the grass to people doing sports, to people that just crossed it to save a couple of meters on their way. For my final image, I then created a collage of all these dogs and people together. I intended to show how many dogs shit there, but also how many people use the same place without seeing the dog shit at that point.

In the course of the following weeks and months, I also tried to get a hold of the city to confront them with the images I made, but they weren’t interested in doing anything. 

In the following pictures, you can see my fixed camera in my room, the official law and sign for the Zones, a map of all Zones in Rotterdam, and the three stages of my collage. Without anything, with dogs and with all the people. 

An interesting point that stands out while looking at the final picture is that all dog owners except one don’t step on the green space.