Beach Epiphany
South Beach in Miami is a place that holds a special spot in many people's imagination. It is surrounded by beaches, swamps, and skyscrapers, and is filled with many layers and contradictions within its complicated history. People from all over the world desire and frequent this place for so many different reasons.
Since 2017, I have started photographing the beach in Miami's south side. I let the long walks on the sandy beach and the encounters with people be the creative force in this process. This offered me different perspectives about this place and, thus, became a long-term ongoing investigation into contemporary society in some of its economic, political, and behavioral aspects.
The beach is a place where people, usually in bathing suits, are under the sun and facing the sea. Therefore, it is a place that softens social hierarchies as everyone is sharing the same space and bathing in the same sea. This project aims to reveal more sincerely some intrinsic aspects of the human condition today through the chronicle of everyday life at the beach.
As a Brazilian, Miami also had a place in my imagination. Having the opportunity to spend time there and experiencing it through my photographic practice made me question many preconceived ideas I had of that place. I embraced its subtleties to add more layers and colors to the often stereotypical conceptions.
Within the spectrum of colors, lies a dimension capable of expanding the interpretation of human dreams, desires, values, aspirations… Everything takes on a new rhythm and is revealed without the frontier of modesty or shame, so colors can become the raw material for reflections and emotions.
In this sense, the term "epiphany" seems appropriate for the deep sense of fulfillment, synchronicity, and contradiction that exists between the essence of the place and ourselves.
This project aims to propose a broader look into the existing relations between bodies, identity, and the landscape, set in an environment stimulated by cultural and behavioral diversity or even by a certain idiosyncratic component. The images are an invitation to delve into this plot and engage in this lived experience that made it possible to establish more connections and find sense in a form of lyrism to raise more questions and challenge any singular and well-formed ideas about such a complex place.
Since 2017, I have started photographing the beach in Miami's south side. I let the long walks on the sandy beach and the encounters with people be the creative force in this process. This offered me different perspectives about this place and, thus, became a long-term ongoing investigation into contemporary society in some of its economic, political, and behavioral aspects.
The beach is a place where people, usually in bathing suits, are under the sun and facing the sea. Therefore, it is a place that softens social hierarchies as everyone is sharing the same space and bathing in the same sea. This project aims to reveal more sincerely some intrinsic aspects of the human condition today through the chronicle of everyday life at the beach.
As a Brazilian, Miami also had a place in my imagination. Having the opportunity to spend time there and experiencing it through my photographic practice made me question many preconceived ideas I had of that place. I embraced its subtleties to add more layers and colors to the often stereotypical conceptions.
Within the spectrum of colors, lies a dimension capable of expanding the interpretation of human dreams, desires, values, aspirations… Everything takes on a new rhythm and is revealed without the frontier of modesty or shame, so colors can become the raw material for reflections and emotions.
In this sense, the term "epiphany" seems appropriate for the deep sense of fulfillment, synchronicity, and contradiction that exists between the essence of the place and ourselves.
This project aims to propose a broader look into the existing relations between bodies, identity, and the landscape, set in an environment stimulated by cultural and behavioral diversity or even by a certain idiosyncratic component. The images are an invitation to delve into this plot and engage in this lived experience that made it possible to establish more connections and find sense in a form of lyrism to raise more questions and challenge any singular and well-formed ideas about such a complex place.