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Brazil is not “the country of carnaval”, as Bahian author Jorge Amado put it in the title of his early 20^th century novel. Rather, as singer, songwriter, author, and public intellectual Caetano Veloso wrote in the title of his 1977 song, Brazil is a land of “muitos carnavais” (many carnivals). From the celebrations of the Afro-Bahian goddess of the seas Iemanjá to the small interior communities in rural Bahia, from the hill top favela of Alto da Sereia where we lived for nearly a year to Salvador’s carnaval, the pre-Lenten feast that provides one last chance for carnal excess before 40 days of fasting and prayer, Brazil is a country of diversity, complexity, and contradiction; of rhythm and groove, harmony and dissonance; of beauty and joy, but simultaneously pain and suffering. In this digital exhibition I have attempted to use my camera to capture these multiple realities that come together, for better or worse, in Bahia, and Brazil more generally, in the 21^st century.

In the coming weeks and months I’ll be printing and framing a subset of these images in preparation for a show somewhere in the Phoenix area (more information forthcoming). Let me know which are your favorites! And if there is one that you’ve gotta have and don’t want to wait for the live show, click on ‘about’ to your right for advanced ordering and pricing.

All images copyright 2009.