London – Other foreign professionals in journalism and photography, such as British journalist Dom Philips, who disappeared in the Amazon with local writer Bruno Pereira, have documented Brazil’s environmental issues and have been awarded international awards for their work.
The “Decade of Change” award given by the British Journal of Photography was among 22 winners this year, two foreigners and a Brazilian, half-foreign, describing the effects of environmental pollution in Minas Gerais and Bahia.
Explore the work of three award-winning photographers, whose photos were taken in Brazil, and two other articles that poetically describe climate anxiety and the effects of global warming on people with albinism.
Photo award recognizes pollution images in Brazil
5 minutes by Rebeca Binda
Rebeca Binda is a Brazilian/Italian photojournalist and independent researcher currently living in London.
He was one of the winners of the photography award Decade of Change for ‘5 Minutes’, the first installment of an investigative documentary project denouncing land destruction by mining companies in Minas Gerais.
“The study focuses on the consequences of the biggest ecological disaster in Brazilian history: the Fundão crime.
This man-made disaster contaminated an area the size of Portugal with heavy metals such as mercury, copper and aluminum, not only affecting the environment but also forever changing the way of life of local communities.
On November 5, 2015, the Fundão dam failed, causing a wave of toxic mine tailings that spewed a cloud of rust-red mud into the Rio Doce basin.
According to studies conducted by Fundação SOS Mata Atlântica, sludge residues have removed a total of 324 hectares of Atlantic Forest area.
Similar to the Amazon, the Atlantic Forest is an important biome in facing the climate crisis, but its survival is threatened”.
Rebeca has worked around the world on issues related to environmental (mental) justice, environmental destruction, human relations and social discrimination for major newspapers such as The Guardian and organizations such as the Refugee Journalism Project and Save The Children. She holds a law degree and an MA in photojournalism from the University of the Arts, London.
The water problem – land control, Thomas Byczkowski
Another work recognized in the Decade of Change photography award held in Brazil was the work of “German photographer Thomas Byczkowski, who has developed projects inspired by exploring the meaning of the word.height” (German house).
He comes from a refugee family and is interested in documenting how people cope with losses from war or disaster.
Thomas lived in Brazil for a year in 2019 to document another type of refugee: Rio Doce residents following the November 2015 mining disaster.
Some of his work in Brazil was published by the German NGO Misereor. One of the images is used by the organization in a national awareness campaign.
The Decade of Change award-winning photo shows pollution in Ilha Brava, a town in Minas Gerais washed by the Rio Doce.
The image shows Joelma, a greengrocer, who grows plants and bees, and controls the land of the island where she lives with her three daughters. “We feel angry, helpless,” she says.
“Joelma witnesses firsthand the effects of large-scale pollution as a major driver of our planet’s warming.
Its tiny islands are no longer a refuge or source of income after the devastating mining disaster that polluted the river six years ago, an area almost the size of Austria, cut off hundreds of thousands of vital water supplies and destroyed their homes.
The impacts are further threatening an area that has to deal with increasingly drier summers, accelerating the effects of climate change in the region.”
A story about oil, pollution and racism by Tommaso Rada
Tommaso Rada is an Italian photographer based in São Paulo. The prize was awarded to a photograph showing a group of fishing women during a community meeting in Ilha de Maré, Bahia.
“The leaders of Quilombo in Ilha de Maré are mostly women. And they are the fishermen.
Due to the pollution industry petrochemical industry, their way of life was deeply affected. Quilombolas claim they are discriminated against by environmental racism”.
There is a phrase used by quilombolas across Brazil: “We are fighting”.
This is not just a declaration of struggle for their rights and the injustices their society suffers. It’s a way of remembering that they continued the freedom struggle that their slave ancestors started.”
“Color infrared image of gas deposits in Port Aratu. The port of Aratu-Candeias is responsible for 60% of cargo ships arriving and departing the state of Bahia.
With the increase in industrialization, there has also been an increase in environmental pollution and environmental incidents, such as when a Norwegian ship lost in the waters in 2008 spilled lubricating oil and polluted nearby areas.”
Rada works with documentary photography on socioeconomic issues. His work has been published in various magazines and newspapers such as Financial Time, Der Spiegel, Monocle, Popoli, Popoli and Missioni, Private online edition, Expresso, Helsingin Sanomat, Courrier International, Le Pelerin, Washington Post and Forbes Brasil.
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Award-winning series portrays climate anxiety and albinism
Two projects won the Series category of the Decade of Change photography award: ‘Fading Senses’ by Liga Poplawska and ‘This is a Human: a great curiosity’ by Cynthia MaiWa Sitei.
Fading Senses, Liga Poplawska
The award-winning photographs in the “Fading Senses” series explore ‘Solastalgia’, a term coined by environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht in 2003 to describe a state of emotional distress caused by climate anxiety.
“What happens if we lose our senses? In times of extinction of many species and the devastating effects of climate change, environmental concern is a growing problem affecting societies.
Solastalgia, a relatively new name to describe the emotional distress caused by the loss of ecosystems, is characterized by a fading world perspective, a lived experience of the loss of the present.
“Described as an earthly situation, it reflects the ‘time’ of our time. One of humankind’s greatest fears, the absence of the senses, can lead to flashbacks of in-mind perception, echolocation, and memory.”
“‘Fading Senses’ is a research project and photographic essay in which I explore how Solastalgia affects our mental and emotional health and the effects of the absence of senses on brain mechanisms.”
“Since I temporarily lost a sense in the past, this deprivation became my intuitive guide to working method and visual language. In the process, I was drawn to places associated with the so-called concept of stability and protection, such as socialist architecture, a zoo site, a home for the blind, or an acrobatic center.”
“By focusing on these places and the people who live there, I looked for visual signs of disconnection that reflected a sense of insecurity. By turning my research into a speculative narrative, I aim to create a mental image of an elusive sensation to underline the disconnection of man from his natural habitat.”.
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“It’s a human: a great curiosity” by Cynthia MaiWa Site
Cardiff-based Kenyan artist Cynthia MaiWa Sitei’s project “If This is a Human: a big wonder” explores the impact of the climate crisis on people with albinism, particularly in rural Kenya and Tanzania.
“The rise in temperature has an extremely detrimental effect on those who have very little melanin in their skin. The sun is the silent killer.”
Images courtesy of the Decade of Change photo award organization.
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source: Noticias
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