I was born in
a very particular region in Brazil. The northeast. The Brazilian
semiarid hinterland, the so-called sertão. This dry region is
one of the poorest ones in my homeland. Since I was born in this
region, my photographic work has always focused the men who face
such hard reality.
BENDITOS (Editora Tempo d’Imagem,
2000), addresses the town that is a reference of popular religiosity
in northeastern Brazil. Juazeiro do Norte, home town of Father
Cícero, a non-official saint of the Catholic church, although
revered by people. Every year thousands of pilgrims from all
the northeastern states go to Juazeiro to make or pay vows in
the hope that they will get a better life, more health, more
land, and more water.
With a difficult geography and
irregular rainfall most of the year, the hinterland faces adversities
and the lack of water on a daily basis, turning the region into
a place where examples, popular wisdom, and forms of human conviviality
are essential for the survival of the population.
On the other hand, the hinterland
is one of the richest centers of popular culture and handicraft
in Brazil, and with strong expressions of the popular Brazilian
religiosity, this region is very diverse in cultural terms.
The focal point of my photography
is man and his relations with the environment. My images rarely
show landscapes without people. They are mostly human landscapes.
Photography is just a pretext for meeting people and sharing
life experiences with them. In telling and sharing these stories
by means of images I intend to contribute to the understanding
of man and his hard reality in the semiarid region of Brazil.
Tiago Santana |