THE PROJECT
“Quilombolas” are people from regions that are remnants of quilombos, communities formed by escaped slaves at the time of slavery in Brazil.
The common origin of the quilombo remnants is the African ancestry of enslaved blacks who fled the cruelty of slavery and took refuge in the forests, living simply and integrated with nature, deriving most of their sustenance from the land.
The "Quilombola Universe" project is a collaborative production by photographers Flávio Veloso and Victor Triverio, in partnership with the traditional quilombola communities located in the region called Sapê do Norte (Brazil), in the municipality of Conceição da Barra, in the north of the state of Espírito Santo, portraying their ways of life, their culture and traditions, as well as their daily socio-environmental interactions.
The project involved the participation of young quilombolas from the region, who took part in photography workshops taught by professional photographers so that, with this knowledge, they could expand their technical resources by producing images that portrayed their habits, customs and environmental issues from the "inside".
The result of these multiple perspectives was three collective photographic exhibitions that toured the state of Espírito Santo, in the municipalities of Conceição da Barra, São Mateus and the capital Vitória, with images by photographers Flávio Veloso, Victor Triverio and young quilombolas, students from the photography workshops.
THE CONTEXT
Originally the ¨quilombola¨ territory of Sapê do Norte occupied an extensive area between the current municipalities of São Mateus and Conceição da Barra (ES) and was home to 12,000 families, spread over 100 communities.
These communities were expelled from their original territories by a violent process of colonisation sponsored by the State, where the traditional ¨quilombola¨ culture was replaced by the status quo "progress", represented by pastures and monocultures. Today there are around 1,200 families in 30 communities, 10% of the original settlement.
In this context, the "Quilombola Universe" project was carried out and, unsurprisingly, found a scenario of great distrust and isolation. But they were also surprised by the joy, the colours and, above all, the omnipresence of women in their leadership and their sense of fraternity.
THE YOUNG QUILOMBOLAS
HENRI KELVIN
Fotógrafo e Quilombola
PEDRO ALVES
Fotógrafo e Quilombola
PELETRIC MC
Fotógrafo e Quilombola
KELLYNHA
Fotógrafo e Quilombola
JEFERSON CASSIANO
Fotógrafo e Quilombola
RÔMULO GABRIEL
Fotógrafo e Quilombola
THE ARTISTS
FLAVIO VELOSO
Photographer and workshop instructor
With more than two decades of professional experience, his images have illustrated national and international publications such as Guia 4 Rodas (and its variations), Viagem & Turismo, Bravo, Veja, Veja Rio, JungleDrums, TAM nas Nuvens, The Age, Traveller, Sydney Morning Herald, O Globo and others; as well as working for the main advertising agencies, with images in pieces for clients such as SBT, Gafisa, Bradesco, Citibank, BG Group, Bogner, Viação Útil, Boing, Emirate Air Lines, TIM, SkyScanner and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).He is the author of one of the most expensive photos ever sold for commercial use.
VICTOR TRIVERIO
Photographer and workshop instructor
With a degree in Biology/Ecology, he has had photography in his life for 25 years, when he started out in this universe by intuitively clicking on ordinary scenes he saw. His passion for photography developed in the following years, while still at university, when he visited various ecosystems in the corners of Brazil, where he took the opportunity to refine his view of the subjects. A phase that yielded many images. A traveler, musician and convinced carioca, he now lives in London, where he continues to accumulate clicks, adding to his portfolio of images taken in various countries, where he has captured scenes and cultural expressions, witnessing different themes ranging from the bucolic to the urban. His work focuses on everyday life and the challenge of capturing moments and details that sometimes go unnoticed by more distracted eyes.
THE IMAGES
The images were taken by professional photographers Flavio Veloso, Victor Triverio and young quilombolas who took part in the photographic workshops held in their communities as part of the project. The images were produced in April 2022. The Quilombolas were free to produce their images using the knowledge they acquired in the workshops, as well as choosing the theme that best represented them. This was a choice made by the curators, who felt that there was no one better than them, with a privileged view, to evaluate and decide what was worth showing about their own universe.
