Maysa is a project about race and gender in Brazil. Brazilian photographer Luisa Dörr met Maysa during the final contest of “Young Miss Brazil”, in April 2014. That was the day she discovered that the contest had 2 categories: one for black and another for white beauties. “Young Miss Brazil” and “Young Miss Brazil Black Beauty,” which was meant to be encouraging black girls to participate in the contest. Racism is unfortunately very common in Brazil, although approximately 40% of the population is black. The vast majority lives in a perpetual marginal status. Months later, Maysa contacted the artist for a portfolio photo shoot. She wanted to take her chances for the 2015 contest. What was supposed to be a simple gift, became a work in progress. They kept in touch for months, and developed a strong friendship. One that was helping the artist to be aware of the tough reality in her country; racism, sexism, social exclusion, and struggle to survive. In 2015, Maysa won the title “Young Miss Brazil Black Beauty”. Luisa Dörr keep seeing Maysa and her family, fighting to get a comfortable place and social recognition. What is more exciting for Luisa Dörr is seeing the coming of age of a wonderful human being that represents a lot of values, which her country is slowly losing. The idea of this long-term project is for Luisa Dörr to keep following Maysa and document what it means to be a black person in a society that glorifies white beauty.
Fotoistanbul
September 30 to October 22, 2017
Istanbul, Turkey
