honorable mention
Gabriel Bonfim brazil
title
M. - My Place in Society
M means MULHER, woman in portuguese. Such as Maria, the most common female name in South América. M of Melissa, the first transexual girl of this series which shows women who have been pushed to the border of society for simply being who they are: fat, prostitute, religious, lesbian, domestic violence victm, black, albins.. but by their own efforts, they did conqueour a place in the middle of this same society back again; creating laws, influencing another ones through the social media to leave their houses, generating jobs to majority male classes, and so on.
When men photograph women with "perfect" or "standard" bodies, naked or half-naked, in black and white and using an ultra-treatment to mask any imperfection is a bit of the same. What I'm doing here is praising the struggle of each of my guests.
Gabriel’s recent projects include ‘Warm Americas’, which he began in 2012. The first part takes place in New York, with the fitness group Bar-Barians and a specially selected group of dancers from a wide variety of international backgrounds (yet all American citizens). The second part of ‘Warm Americas’ takes place in Rio, mixing – as usual – unknown people, professional models and also Brazilian celebrities such as Alessandra Maestrini and Cauby Peixoto.
In October 2016 Gabriel Bonfim had the opportunity to present his Tactography™ for the very first time to a wide viewing public, at São Paulo’s prestigious Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS), an institution of the Cultural Secretariat of the Government of the State of São Paulo (Secretaria da Cultura, Governo do Estado São Paulo). The exhibition featured a 12-part Tactography™ portrait series of well-known tenor Andrea Bocelli, as well as a 9-part portrait series of young ballet dancer Denis Vieira and a small selection of photographic portraits in colour and black & white.
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entry description
I was in Rio de Janeiro in 2013, doing a photo shooting with Melissa, a very young transsexual woman in an extremely beautiful and touristic place. Contrasting the beauty of the place and the pain of that story made me want to portray so many other women and their daily struggles.M means MULHER, woman in portuguese. Such as Maria, the most common female name in South América. M of Melissa, the first transexual girl of this series which shows women who have been pushed to the border of society for simply being who they are: fat, prostitute, religious, lesbian, domestic violence victm, black, albins.. but by their own efforts, they did conqueour a place in the middle of this same society back again; creating laws, influencing another ones through the social media to leave their houses, generating jobs to majority male classes, and so on.
When men photograph women with "perfect" or "standard" bodies, naked or half-naked, in black and white and using an ultra-treatment to mask any imperfection is a bit of the same. What I'm doing here is praising the struggle of each of my guests.
about the photographer
Photographer Gabriel Bonfim has always had a deep connection to the arts. By the age of 20, whilst visiting Italy, Holland, Germany and Belgium, he achieved his goal of showing his work internationally. In Brussels, he was offered the position of Vice President of the Europe Top Model contest and created the Visage de Bruxelles editorial. As a result of his work in Europe, when he returned to Brazil he was asked to do his first major photo shoot for the magazine ACAPA.Gabriel’s recent projects include ‘Warm Americas’, which he began in 2012. The first part takes place in New York, with the fitness group Bar-Barians and a specially selected group of dancers from a wide variety of international backgrounds (yet all American citizens). The second part of ‘Warm Americas’ takes place in Rio, mixing – as usual – unknown people, professional models and also Brazilian celebrities such as Alessandra Maestrini and Cauby Peixoto.
In October 2016 Gabriel Bonfim had the opportunity to present his Tactography™ for the very first time to a wide viewing public, at São Paulo’s prestigious Museu da Imagem e do Som (MIS), an institution of the Cultural Secretariat of the Government of the State of São Paulo (Secretaria da Cultura, Governo do Estado São Paulo). The exhibition featured a 12-part Tactography™ portrait series of well-known tenor Andrea Bocelli, as well as a 9-part portrait series of young ballet dancer Denis Vieira and a small selection of photographic portraits in colour and black & white.
back to gallery