Dayani 3

Afterwards, I wanted to give an opportunity for direct expression to my subject, so I asked Dayani to provide me with his own photographic view of the Port of Tabatinga. For a day, I loaned him an old automatic camera, that was slightly damaged but still in good working condition, that I always carry with me. I was secretly hoping that Dayani’s photos would contain technical errors that would give the images an artistic twist. I was a little disappointed to see that the images were more or less technically perfect. However, several of his photos were captivating for what they revealed about Dayani’s ecological preoccupations. Dayani photographed a large variety of garbage and dead fish that had washed up on shore. He also photographed some workers who, because of the dry conditions, are forced to walk hundreds of metres over a swampy beach in order to deliver goods to the port.

The images that I chose were ones that seemed more spontaneous and I linked these photos with the wishes that some of Dayani’s customers had expressed that day. I hoped that the results would expand the scope of interpretation by creating an ambiguous relationship between environmental and human drama.