Papi

Indigenous to the Quechua tribe of Peru, Papi recycles aluminum cans that he finds on the shores of the Amazon River. The port residents are sympathetic to him and save their beverage containers for Papi. Apparently flattered by my interest in him, Papi guided me around the port and shared his daily life with me.

Given that he speaks neither Spanish nor Portuguese, we had to communicate for better or for worse with hand signals, by miming and with the use of facial expressions and gestures. Since it is impossible for me to tell his story, I can only share through images my fascination with this spontaneous, handsome man who has an incomparable joy for life.

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.

Dayani 2

During our second meeting, I again set the ISO setting to maximum and used a slow exposure. As a result of this technique, the background details were erased which helped to emphasize the destitution of the landscape. I also used pieces of garbage that I found on the ground, such as transparent plastic bags and plastic wrap, to use as filters which I placed over the lens. I was delighted to find that with this technique I could produce many different effects and unusual textures.

Dayani 1

Dayani is a young Colombian whose university education prevents him from finding employment that offers what he considers decent working conditions in his native country. Frustrated by the political and economic situation in Colombia, he hopes to find work in Europe. While awaiting responses to his applications, he finds himself relegated to working in the Port of Tabatinga, where he has developed a clever trinket to sell which earns him a significant amount of money: to passersby, he offers simply designed “good fortune” bracelets that he makes with three distinctly coloured strands of thread.

He invites his customers to express a wish and assures them that their wish will come true so long as the bracelet remains on their wrist. He then asks these people to make a voluntary donation of a small amount of money in exchange for the lucky charm that he offers. Thanks to a population as superstitious as the one in Amazonia…Dayani confirms that his merchandise earns him more money than any other vendor in the port. From one day’s work he brings in profits of approximately fifteen dollars.

During our first meeting when we went for a coffee in a bar close to the port, I took photos, placing an emphasis on movement. I used a slow exposure and moved the lens slightly as I snapped the shots. I also adjusted the ISO to the highest setting to obtain maximum grain.

Alejandro

A native Ticuna from the Colombian Amazon and father of eight children from two different marriages, Alejandro lives in extreme poverty on the outskirts of Tabatinga. In order to survive, he sells yucca pancakes, earning about five dollars a day.

During the photography session with Alejandro, I restrained myself from taking any direct photos of my subject in the hopes that this limitation would allow my project to go in an unusual direction.

With this in mind, I photographed those objects that are a part of his daily life: his tools, the cooking utensils that he uses for making pancakes, his few animals, as well as images that he has hung on the walls of his shack.

My attention was particularly drawn to a collage made up of old photos of children whose features have been virtually erased by time and humidity. Alejandro confided to me that they are the children of his first marriage and that today he no longer has contact with them. These images, imbued with an especially rich texture, are very powerful not only for esthetic reasons but also because of the memories that they evoke.

Final Project Presentation

When I started to work on this project, my idea was to expand on the voyage of discovery that I had undertaken when I developed the academic project “Rethink”. With the “Rethink” assignment, I created a subjective photographic view of South America while trying to express the feelings and impressions that certain experiences in my journey had produced in me. This research helped me to open up new pathways with which to reflect upon documentary photography. As a result of my desire to widen my field of exploration and to discover my own artistic language, I began my research in the Port of Tabatinga in Amazonian Brazil. I´m hoping that this new project will allow me to express myself both through the medium of photography and through my social interests.

I was fascinated from the very moment that I set foot in the Port of Tabatinga, a place that I had been advised not to venture into because the area was known to be particularly dangerous. Known as a strategic location for drug dealers, the Port of Tabatinga is saddled with a bad reputation. Nevertheless, the port constitutes a hub in the heart of Amazonia; its bustling economy attracts a multitude of people hailing from a variety of locations. Hard labour, misery and festivity jostle together in the suffocating humidity and 45-degree heat.

The landscape around the Port of Tabatinga is unexpectedly strange; the port is surrounded by a massive wasteland of earth as far as the eye can see. I’ve been told that the level of the Amazon River has not been this low since 1963. These dry conditions have created many problems for the port workers and for the inhabitants of the area.

Amongst the crowds of people can be found a large number of foreigners from Peru and Colombia; they are here to profit from the favourable Brazilian economy by selling a variety of wares. The authorities apparently tolerate the presence of these illegal workers in the region. I wanted to find out more about these workers and the circumstances that drew them to try their luck in the Port of Tabatinga.