2012–2019
Paradise is often referred to as a peaceful place where everyone lives in joy and peace. It is considered a place where personal satisfaction is achieved on all levels, and described as a space of pleasant climate, where food abounds, peace is a constant, life is eternal and sickness does not exist. However, the social representation and the social reality itself shows that these dreams are dismantled into small puzzles. In other words, the expectations of life in diasporic Black communities end up changing, adapting or staking out this path throughout life, in the face of the constant difficulties of integration. Black communities are often stigmatized and considered a place of failure, where inertia, delinquency, and all sorts of social evils reign. This negative representation is supported by a pessimistic narrative conveyed by the media. This work intends to deconstruct the interpretations that one has of the narratives around Black communities around Europe. Shot in different locations, I’m focusing on portraits of Black folks, especially the younger generation, and looking for commonalities that might suggest some kind of Black solidarity and mutual understanding.
Mara Carvalho was born in 1994, in Cabo Verde, and her passion for photography began during her teenage years. Since then, she has invested her time in learning and developing her skills as a photographer. Her work reflects concerns about identity and social relations, often displaying familiar structures or animal behaviours. Mara has stated that it is her photography practice that has changed the way that she sees and relates to life and, that in its own magic way, photography has caused her to realise that she has the right to her own subjectivity and sense of self.
Paradise is often referred to as a peaceful place where everyone lives in joy and peace. It is considered a place where personal satisfaction is achieved on all levels, and described as a space of pleasant climate, where food abounds, peace is a constant, life is eternal and sickness does not exist. However, the social representation and the social reality itself shows that these dreams are dismantled into small puzzles. In other words, the expectations of life in diasporic Black communities end up changing, adapting or staking out this path throughout life, in the face of the constant difficulties of integration. Black communities are often stigmatized and considered a place of failure, where inertia, delinquency, and all sorts of social evils reign. This negative representation is supported by a pessimistic narrative conveyed by the media. This work intends to deconstruct the interpretations that one has of the narratives around Black communities around Europe. Shot in different locations, I’m focusing on portraits of Black folks, especially the younger generation, and looking for commonalities that might suggest some kind of Black solidarity and mutual understanding.
Mara Carvalho was born in 1994, in Cabo Verde, and her passion for photography began during her teenage years. Since then, she has invested her time in learning and developing her skills as a photographer. Her work reflects concerns about identity and social relations, often displaying familiar structures or animal behaviours. Mara has stated that it is her photography practice that has changed the way that she sees and relates to life and, that in its own magic way, photography has caused her to realise that she has the right to her own subjectivity and sense of self.