Photos: Ana Luzes

Ana Luzes is a visual artist from Espírito Santo, born in downtown Vitoria and raised in Morro do Quadrado. From a young age, her passion was photography, which she used as a way to document her surroundings. At the age of 22, she graduated in Photography from the University of Vila Velha (UVV) and decided to start portraying the outskirts of the city, showing its roots and its stories. She participated in the virtual exhibition “Series on isolation” at the Vale Museum in 2021 and worked with documentary photography in the article “Surviving to care: The steps of Lenir's life”.

In 2022, he participated in the screening THE URBAN BETWEEN REALITY AND UTOPIA at the Tiradentes and Rotterdam Photo Photography Festival. With images from the series Only those who know how to swim drown (2021), taken in the Santa Maria River, which borders Ilha das Caieiras.
In 2023, he participated in the exhibitions BRIDGING HORIZONS: Brazilian Photography Today, in the United States and Otros Brasiles: La fotografia como expresión de la resistencia, in Mexico City.

For over three years, Ana Luzes has been researching the creations that exist within the favela, in partnership with the Instituto Serenata de Favela. In total, she teaches photography classes and leads workshops for 200 children.

In the exhibition GENESIS: CRIAção, the artist presented, at the Homero Massena Gallery, in Vitória, photographic installations based on the 7 stages of the creation of the world, according to the first biblical book Genesis, which narrates from a religious point of view, the origin of the world. By recording images that dialogue with the reality of the outskirts, the artist, a resident of the Santa Tereza neighborhood and the “cria” initiative, from Morro do Quadro, present interventions of fragments of a large creative universe from the neighborhoods of Quadro, Cabral, Jesus de Nazareth, Inhanguetá and Grande Vitória, emphasizing their experiences, cultural manifestations and resilience in the midst of social inequality and that bring to light various moments with key words from biblical history.

“This research and study for the production of images was not done in books, with any theory or expert on favelas; this research was done in practice with the communities, with many visits, connections and reflections that influenced the aesthetic or narrative decisions. In this way, the exhibition was not only made about them but, fundamentally, with them.” says curator Nataly Volcati*.

The exhibition is also the result of an educational project, which includes the use of smartphones and cameras to take photos. Children are also encouraged to participate in the photographic experience.

“Genesis is my first solo exhibition, but I am proud to know that it was created collectively with the people involved in the project. It is the beginning of a journey that seeks to bring the memories of the favelas of Espírito Santo to the attention of other audiences. Exhibiting these experiences at Galeria Homero Massena, a reference space for contemporary political issues, reinforces the presence of the periphery in the Historic Center of Vitória,” says Ana Luzes.

“All my work is also about a bit of my history. I always wanted to approach the favela from a different perspective, from a perspective that would enchant people, and I think this ended up generating a good result.”


* Nataly Volcati, raised in the Grande Vitória neighborhood in Vitória/ES, is a researcher-artist and manager of cultural projects. A first-time curator of the exhibition GENÊSIS: A CRIAção, alongside artist Ana Luzes, Nataly brings to her work a critical and conscious approach to ethnic-racial issues, with a projection of continuity in her curatorial practice. With a degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Espírito Santo (UFES), with an emphasis on Urban Sociology, she is currently pursuing a specialization in Cultural Project Management at the Center for Latin American Studies on Culture and Communication (CELACC/USP). Her research explores themes such as Afro-Brazilian and urban periphery memory and identities, permeating her intellectual, artistic and cultural work. ✱


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