Marly Porto is curator of the collection “A Brazilian photographic collection at the BnF” with Héloïse Cones. She just sent us this portfolio by Raphael Alves called “Riversick”.
“Riversick” is a work about how people, nature, and the urban environment share space in Manaus (the author’s birthplace, in Amazonas, Brazil) and its surrounding areas — the aspiring metropolitan region. More than that, it is a reverie about the relationship between the author and the city: it explores how the photographer relates to the various possible (and impossible) cities of Manaus. Not only the city that he lives in, but the cities that live within him.
Manaus is the largest city in the Amazon region: its population is over 2 million. Although it is located on the banks of the Negro River and close to its confluence with the Solimões River, it had not been planned for such growth. The pollution of its waterways is a stark indication of that. Moreover, despite having been built in the heart of the Amazon, it is one of the least green capitals in the country: concrete is always chosen over greenery. Manaus is, therefore, a large city that has turned its back on its most striking feature: nature.
The presence of a once-thriving free trade zone made Manaus a sought-after El Dorado for people from various regions of the country and the world. The absence of robust and long-term policies to take in all that pressure — which became intertwined with the city’s native problems — still directly influences the complicated relationship between “urban space vs. nature.” The author’s view of life in Manaus reveals the invasion of spaces that were once green, even pushing poverty to those areas. It also brings images of disorder, pollution, and various facets of urban social problems, aspects that constantly question the identity of this part of the world. Is the author looking at the city that seemed so small in his childhood, or is he in the “port-metropolis” that suffocates under all the pressures inherent to big cities?
The title of the work comes from a play on words that explains the author’s mixed feelings about his environment. The sensation of seasickness mixed with homesickness gains a new feeling by the river. One or many Manaus — lived, felt, dreamed, or idealized — translated into a deeply personal sentiment: “Riversick.”
Born in Manaus (Amazonas, Brazil), Raphael Alves studied Social Communication with a focus on Journalism at Universidade Federal do Amazonas (Federal University of Amazonas, UFAM), Photography at Universidade Estadual de Londrina (State University of Londrina, UEL), and Visual Arts at Serviço Nacional de Aprendizagem Comercial (National Service for Commercial Learning, SENAC). He also earned a Master of Arts degree in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography from the London College of Communication – University of the Arts, in London (UK).
In addition to contributing as a photojournalist for national and international agencies and outlets, he is a member of the Everyday Brasil project.
The theme of his work is dedicated to understanding the role and positioning of humans in the space divided between nature and urban areas in his region.
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