Fica Suave

The story “Fica Suave” shows the world of Thay, a young girl growing up in the Vila Cruzeiro favela in Rio de Janeiro. The story takes place over several years, portraying normal daily life. Despite the everyday dangers, gunshots and the fear, Thay is full of joy and stands her ground in this challenging environment. Thay lives in one of Rio’s most dangerous favelas, along with her mother and sister. Partly due to the violence, the life of the favela takes place mainly in the limited space of one’s own street, in the maze of alleys, in the living rooms. Her aunt, uncle, nieces and nephews live next to and opposite her in the same alley. In grandma’s house, everyone comes together to celebrate birthdays, sleep, shower and watch TV. Her friends live in the same neighborhood, the spend the day together, at home, on the streets hanging out and playing. The sense of community in this inward-looking and closed world is strong. This is an ongoing multimedia project. Van Wechem has been working on this story since 2016, exhibited and published multiple times, graduated with honors, and won the DuPho SO Student Award in 2020. In 2021 the multimedia installation will be on show at Photofestival Naarden in The Netherlands and a photobook will be published by Sabine van Wechem. This book is a small selection of the works with an edition of 70 copies.