Gui Christ is a Brazilian visual artist known for photographing Brazilian peripheral communities and cultures using contemporary visual approaches.
His work has gained international recognition and since 2015 has been regularly featured in international top news outlets such as Time Magazine, National Geographic Magazine, Billboard, El Pais, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Internazionale, Al Jazeera, Der Spiegel and others.
His first personal project, “Marrocos” (2016), in collaboration with Gringo Collective, explored the largest Brazilian squat and received numerous Brazilian photography awards. The project was also exhibited at festivals such as PhotoEspaña (Spain) and Festival de la Luz (Argentina). In 2020, Gui published his first solo photobook, “Fissura,” which documented the world’s largest street drug market.
“M’kumba” is an ongoing project that illustrates the resilience of Afro-Brazilian communities in the face of local religious intolerance. Its name derives from an ancient Kongo word for spiritual leaders, but it was distorted by local society to demean African religions.
For over 300 years, nearly 5 million African people were brought to Brazil. They not only lost their freedom but also had their spiritualities persecuted by colonial ideologies. AfroBrazilian religions were criminalized until 1970, and due to centuries of prejudice, they still face violence—over 2,000 attacks were reported in 2024 alone. Out of fear, despite 56% of Brazilians being Afro-descendants, less than 2% identify as Afro-religious.
As an Afro-religious priest in training, I photograph a proud, younger generation representing our deities and mythological tales. Through intimate imagery, this project challenges prejudice while celebrating these spiritual traditions as vital to Brazil’s cultural identity.
Gui Christ
