Dead Water

As a consequence of the pressure of the international market, recently Brazil, like many other countries, has been facing an aggressive policy for expansion in hydropower plants despite the arguments of social movements, anthropologists and biologists concerning the loss of wild species habitats, impoverishment of local dwellers, and dismantlement of traditional cultures led by these projects. Meanwhile, mass media fails to broadcast these facts, and also fails to support the claims of the ecologists and the affected communities. ‘Dead Water’ is my response to this scenario. It presents the costs of hydropower through a hybrid point of view: the one of the photographer and the subjects of this story together. For so I invited people who have been affected by the construction of dams for hydropower purposes (the subjects of this story) in remote areas of Brazil to sit for a portrait. For this photo shoot, each sitter was asked to choose a relevant place, as well as to select an object that represented the feeling she/he has regarding the move due to the dam works. Each sitter was also asked to direct his/her own photo shoot, making the changes she/he wanted in order to best represent himself/herself, her/his history and feelings before the Other. I want the sitters’ voice to come through in the making of work, not simply as the observed within the documentary process. These images embody the sitters’ claims, thoughts, memories, and the environment they belong to.