News

Photographer Sebastián Liste’s project Urban Quilombo was recently selected by Whitney Johnson as one of the Juror Picks in the 2011 Daylight / CDS Awards. For the project, Liste developed relationships with and photographed families living in Galpao de Araujo Barreto, an abandoned chocolate factory in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil. In part one of a two part interview with Daylight, Liste talks about his experiences working in Brazil and the unexpected circumstances he has found himself in. For part two, which will be posted on the Daylight blog in November, Liste will show and discuss new personal work he has created for the 2011 Joop Swart Masterclass.

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Interview by Trent Davis Bailey
Photographs by Sebastián LIste

Daylight: How did you first hear about and/or discover Barreto?

Sebastián Liste: I first accessed Barreto thanks to my friend and mentor Ernesto Bazan. It was during late 2009 and since then I have gone back several times on my own. Earlier this year, however, the Brazilian government evicted all of the families from the building.

D: What is the significance of the title Urban Quilombo?

SL: In Brazil, quilombo is a name that was given to runaway slaves’ settlements, specifically on plantations owned by Europeans. Each quilombo functioned as an outlet against the violence of the slavery system, giving slaves a space for recreation and the ability to express their African heritage and traditions.

In the modern-day quilombo a broader interpretation is associated with the word. It stands for the resistance of an ethnic territory that is able to organize itself and to reproduce its culture and particular way of life—even in adverse conditions and varying geographic locations.

In this case, the adjective “Urban” in Urban Quilombo refers to the strength of a collective community against the unbalance in Brazil’s social and economic system. In other words, these communities no longer exist in the countryside as in the days of slavery, but are created within cities. Today, it is mainly an urban movement in which the inhabitants are looking for protection and security, for equality of conditions, and for free access to land.

D: Have your subjects from Barreto seen your photographs, and if so, what has their response been?

SL: While I was working in Barreto I would go to a photo lab every week to print hundreds of images. I brought every family an album and they used them to start their own family albums. They always asked me for all of the images that I took, including the images of them having sex or smoking crack. No taboos there!

D: Which of your photographs from Urban Quilombo was the most unexpected?

SL: Probably the most unexpected situation that I experienced in Barreto was the story behind the photograph of the couple making love. I spent that entire morning talking with them in a small shack. At first, there were many people coming and going—some stopped by to buy crack, then returned to smoke, and then they would leave the shack. After a while, I was alone in the room with this couple and they moved the couch in front of the door. They did this so they could smoke crack without anyone entering. While we were talking, they sat on the couch while I sat on a bed in front of them. Once their high set in, they began to be very affectionate—kissing, fondling. One thing led to another and the two of them began to make love, not caring in the least that I was in the room. At this point, I could not leave the room because the couch was blocking the door. I grabbed my camera and as I watched this strange situation unfold I took a photo. Before this moment, I had never been interested in taking pictures of people having sex.

D: Would you say there are themes  — cultural, visceral, or otherwise — that are shared among all of your projects?

SL: More than specific themes among all of my projects, I think that all of them have common feelings. It’s more about the way in which I approach each project with a shared intimate narrative that reveals how my photography has allowed me to experiment with my own life and develop interrelations among the people I meet.

D: Tell me about your project Bahia, which seems to communicate a lot about the spirit world, and of life and death.

SL: The project Bahia is an unrestricting way for me to explore life and death in the Bahia state of Brazil. Now that I am growing closer to that place, I have a greater understanding of how the people there profoundly relate with magic and the spiritual world. Because this is an ongoing project, I am always thinking about the juxtaposition of images to create a visual map of a place where the tragic decomposition of human life coexists with the magic realism of Latin America. 

D: You recently moved back to Brazil. Are you continuing to photograph these families and expand on your project or are you going there with other projects in mind?

SL: I’m continuing to document the community of Barreto now that they have been relocated. The Brazilian government decided to move them out of the building due to all of the urban development happening in preparation for the 2014 World Cup. I’m not sure yet what the direction will be for the second chapter of the story, but I’m trying to have a different approach and respond to the new situation the families are living in. Since I’m now living in Brazil I have the opportunity to go deeper into my Bahia project and currently I’m expanding it to all of Northern Brazil. In the coming months, I also want to start a new project in the Amazons.

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For more information about Sebastián and his work, visit: http://www.sebastianliste.com

Issue 9 Launch Party: October 28th 8-11 PM 

Bubble Lounge NYC

229 West Broadway #1

NY, NY 10013

Please join us as we celebrate the launch of our newest edition featuring: Adam Bartos | Robert Canali | Linda Connor | Vincent Fournier | Stan Gaz | Sharon Harper | Jason Lazarus | Charles Lindsay | Noel Rodo-Vankeulen | Phillip Scott Andrews | Greg Stimac | Neilson Tam

An exhibition of photography and multimedia work of photojournalist Tim Hetherington is on view October 22–December 2, 2011, at the recently opened Bronx Documentary Center (BDC). Visions: Tim Hetherington, the first exhibition of Hetherington’s final works since his death in Libya in April 2011, includes never-before-seen color photographs and video installations. 

Before leaving for Libya for the last time, Hetherington had conferred with BDC founder and photojournalist Michael Kamber about creating a gallery and educational space for documentary media in New York. The BDC was created after his death. Visions: Tim Hetherington is the BDC's inaugural exhibition.

Good article about Tim Hetherington and the BDC in the Times' Lens Blog

Two 1971 Walker Evans interviews came into my inbox this week. Here's the link to the transcript of one of them, to complement the one that ASX presented last week. I guess Evans was doing a lot of talking that year in conjunction with his MoMA retrospective.

"PAUL CUMMINGS: Could you describe in some kind of terms what makes a good photograph for you? I mean if you look at ten photographs what are the qualities that you would look for to kind of separate them?

WALKER EVANS: Detachment, lack of sentimentality, originality, a lot of things that sound rather empty. I know what they mean. Let’s say, “visual impact” may not mean much to anybody. I could point it out though. I mean it’s a quality that something has or does not have. Coherence. Well, some things are weak, some things are strong. You just have to…. Well, if you’ve got something in front of you and you’ve got some students you throw those words around and point them out.

PAUL CUMMINGS: What would visual impact be? Would that be the way the photograph is
taken?

WALKER EVANS: I purposely took that because it is a vague phrase. To me there are varying degrees of that in the picture. Sometimes it may be that that isn’t the quality you want. It’s important that – I can show you a picture that’s strong in it, and one that’s weak in it. Well, just like all these qualities that…. A man that’s interested in theatre may say, “That isn’t theatre,” or “That isn’t good theatre.” I often say that in photography. Or that it’s too pictorial; that’s another thing I’m against. These are words that you throw around to make your students interested and make them come alive."

above from: http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-walk...

See the artist's work on the wall in a mini-retrospective of sorts, trhough the end of January 2012, at the Florence Griswold Museum: http://www.flogris.org/exhibitions_11Evans.php

Blog 1 - Week 1 - 20th October 2011 

 So here I am. I quickly introduce myself. My name is Jacob or known as Jake Simkin. I was once a commercial cinematographer and photographer. I guess I still am except I have left the safety net of Australia to work in developing and conflict zones. For 3 1/2 years now I guess I call Afghanistan home. I've travelled out to other conflict zones but still Afghanistan is home. This is really the first time I've committed to doing a blog so forgive me. I did a daylight blog last year on Skateistan: http://www.daylightmagazine.org/podcast/january2010 

A friend has a post it note on his computer. It reads "why the fuck am I still here?". I often think the same. Afghanistan attracts the three M's. Mercenaries, missionaries and mad men. I am the latter, but then I am all three. I ride around by motorbike and walk around freely disregarding that the media perceives Afghanistan as a dangerous place. I believe in educationing the youth who are the future in changing this country and do as much I can to interact with youth and help give them a voice through the artistic means I know and still and foremost I am still a photographer and a cinematographer telling stories of what is on the ground and happening. So yeah, I am your man in Afghanistan on knowing what is happening culturally and artistic.

Afghan Embassy, Dubai

Today's story is about the painful and frustrating process of getting a visa. You need a friend or more so a fixer, an Afghan guy who runs around all the different ministries soothe talking and bribing people to get a fax number to come into the country otherwise they give you a tourist visa once you arrive at the consulate. Even after the years and learning basic Dari they don't get lenient in the last year so I am doomed with a tourist visa once again. I am sitting in the consulate and watching it fill with the other three M's.

They do this to keep out mainly the contractors out here to make money from governments to so call "rebuilding" the country. Some people do a fantastic job but a lot is here for the buck. But obviously this is a dying down. There are new hotspots coming up, Libya, Syria, Somalia  that is all vouching for the money but then all the western countries are all out protesting about the state of the economy occupying for change. Budgets cut will be on it's way so what's next for the developing world?

I love Afghanistan though. It challenges your expectations and problem solving skills. It makes you more forth right in getting what you need done even when your afghan staff are leaning back and have a lack of self motivation. And why should they? They have become dependent on our money and salaries especially towards youth who have knowledge of English. But one day, this money will be gone and where does Afghanistan stand? Is there enough young leaders to make a stand to save itself from its warlords in power?

Dubai feels like a fake empire. It has no real history and culture though maybe the Emiratis may defend it. Built into the sand and out of a need to represent all the export of the Arab world, Dubai stands as their flagpost but the country is founded by the millions of expats mainly Indian or Pakistani labour workers who spend their years here living in one room maybe even twelve to a room. They spend long hours in the heat and humidity constructing the towers in the sand. I've always wondered why they spend the long hours for what seems like low pay. I'm intrigued but then I am told the Emirati government have close watch on the stories that come out of Dubai. Doing the story would mean my name could possibly be blacklisted on arrival and I need Dubai as the hub. Next time I am here I will.

Malls are huge here. It is a very consumerist culture. One it is hot, difficult to spend 30 minutes in the sun before being covered in sweat so the easiest thing to do is going to a shopping mall and if you got money, it is easy to get lost in buying fancy things. Even I bought the new Ipad 2. It has come in handy though cause without it, I actually don't have any cameras except my Lomo LC-A and Leica film camera which aren't as instant as I would like it to be for blogging.  

Anyway next week I look forward to introducing you to Afghanistan as I leave tonight back to Kabul.

Till then, your man in Afghanistan

Jake Simkin

Dubai Mall Centre

Wafi Mall

The Diving men monument, Dubai Mall