Alessandro Falco lebt seit 2018 in Brasilien und widmet sich seither fotografisch ausschließlich sozialen und umweltpolitischen Fragen, die im Zusammenhang mit dem Regenwald stehen. Den #FacesOfPhotography hat er erzählt, woran er gerade arbeitet, warum er immer wieder losgeht, um seine Geschichten zu fotografieren und warum er sich mit einem persönlichen fotografischen Wunsch schwertut:
How are you in these strange times?
I’m fine. After months being worried for my family and friends in Italy, now parts are inverted.
How is the crisis currently affecting Brazil?
The situation is getting worse everyday. Despite the sub-notification of official cases, Brazil contagious rate surpassed 370k cases, reaching an infamous 2nd place for number of infections, in the world.
A portrait of Katiká, the oldest member of Karipuna indigenous people, decimated until today where they’re less than 10. Their land was recently invaded and portions of the forest have been cleared inside the indigenous reserve by land grabbers.
What have you experienced professionally since the beginning of the crisis?
It’s a mix of feelings that can’t be described easily. My work is basically stopped, with no income since few months. In addition, taking photos became more dangerous, while the stories that most deserves to be highlighted are usually impossible to document. I generally feel more tired because of working conditions, with an additional stress for the eventuality of being infected or expose my wife to the virus for small mistakes.
The industry of photography should take in consideration the struggles of independent photographers in this critic period, supporting the work of independent photographers.
What are you currently working on?
I’ve recently documented the death of an indigenous man. He was living at the outskirt of my city in a highly vulnerable community of 160 people; it’s the fifth death by COVID19 in a month.
I’m also documenting the burial of Covid victims in a special area of a cemetery, while planning the feasibility of travel to other affected areas in the Amazon.
Gravediggers burying suspected and confirmed deaths by COVID-19, in a special area of a cemetery in Belém do Pará, Brazilian Amazon. Brazil becomes a new global COVID-19 hotspot with new cases surging at an alarming rates, and more than 20000 confirmed deaths.
What do you think is the task of photography in these times?
Definitely to highlight the risks and consequences that this virus brings to the population, document our contemporary history, the struggle of frontline workers, trying to contrast the global wave of skepticism on regard.
Do you think that ways of seeing and visual languages will change against the background of the crisis?
It all depends on how long there will be lack relationships and human contact, essential in photography. If this nightmare will continue for the coming months, the most creative will need to find other ways to communicate urgent issues. I’m trying.
Rainforest burned to be cleared for cattle grazing near Porto Velho, Brazilian Amazon.
What is your personal photographic wish for the time after the crisis?
I’d be uncomfortable with making a personal wish in front of such devastating scenario for the Amazon region, but I hope that the most vulnerable communities will stay away from it and can return to normal life asap.
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