Are we not men?
We are a footprint in a riverbed
“Just as a footprint in a riverbed is a mark that will disappear with the next flood, we can disappear if we continue to relate to nature in a predatory and non-symbiotic way”
(Raphael Alves)
Raphael Alves, from the Brazilian Amazon city of Manaus, is an award-winning photojournalist whose work focuses on the Amazon rainforest and its people.
Recognized for his powerful images that highlight the region's environmental and social challenges, Raphael Alves' work has been honored in the world's most prestigious photography competitions.
One of his most recent and important projects is ‘The Falling Sky’, which documents the plight of the Yanomami Indians in Brazil. The series explores issues such as illegal mining in Yanomami territory, health crises including malaria and malnutrition, and the ongoing humanitarian tragedy of the Yanomami people. ‘The Falling Sky’ was selected for the 2024 Sony World Photography Awards.
The people he meets and what he can learn from them is a recurring theme in Raphael Alves' work. This is evident in the haunting, often grainy images shot on black-and-white film from his 2013 photo story ‘Quando as águas’ - ‘When the Waters’ - about the daily lives of Amazonian river communities in times of extreme drought and flooding (see an online version of ‘When the Waters’ here).
Raphael Alves does not want his photographs to convey a message so much as to question and challenge the viewer, he said on occasion in an interview with the Manaus-based independent news agency Amazônia Real. Alves: “The relationship between man, nature and urban space is always present in my work. The images of droughts and floods show that everything we throw away comes back to us. Like the garbage that is thrown into the river when the water level rises and is washed back into the streets and houses of Manaus. What we do to nature, we all get back in the end. But not out of revenge. Many people do not realize that the urban space they live in and each individual is part of nature. I see this relationship as a two-way dynamic. In the extremes we are experiencing now - the great floods and the severe droughts - the causal factor is always human. But just as a footprint in the bed of a river is a mark that will disappear with the next flood, so we can disappear if we continue to relate to nature in a predatory and non-symbiotic way.”
“Pyrocene could threaten the human species”
(Leonardo Boff)
Ten years later, the Brazilian theologian, philosopher and writer Leonardo Boff says the same thing in an article entitled ‘O Piroceno pode ameaçar a espécie humana’ - ‘The Pyrocene could threaten the human species’.
In this article, Leonardo Boff explores the concept of the Pyrocene, a term coined by Stephen Pyne* to describe the current era marked by a significant increase in global wildfires. Boff argues that these fires are not simply natural events, but are primarily driven by human activities and the effects of climate change. He highlights the devastating consequences of recent wildfires in various regions, including Canada, Hawaii, Greece, and the Amazon rainforest. Boff points out that these fires release significant amounts of carbon dioxide, exacerbating global warming and creating a dangerous feedback loop.
Leonardo Boff, who teaches social justice, environmental protection and human rights at the State University of Rio de Janeiro, warns that if this trend continues, the Earth could become uninhabitable for humans and many other species. He notes that the Pyrocene is a direct result of the Anthropocene, an epoch characterized by significant human impacts on Earth's ecosystems.
To address this crisis, Boff advocates a profound transformation in human behavior and our relationship with nature. He emphasizes the need for a new ecological consciousness and a transition to sustainable practices to avert further environmental degradation and ensure human survival.
*Stephen J. Pyne coined the term ‘Pyrocene’ in 2015. Pyne is a professor emeritus at Arizona State University's School of Life Sciences and a renowned fire historian who has written extensively about fire and its relationship to human civilization.
“In the last decade, Manaus has become a cradle of bad news - violence, pollution, corruption, poor quality of life, moral crisis…”
(Raphael Alves)
Back to Raphael Alves. He has been photographing the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on life in his hometown since March 13, 2020, the day of the first recorded Covid-19 infection in the Amazon city. In early 2021, he published a limited edition booklet called ‘Insulae’ about the Covid-19 pandemic in Manaus and the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
Shortly thereafter, he won first prize in the POY LATAM (Pictures of the Year Latin America) photography competition in the category of ‘The Pandemic in Ibero-America’. Some of the photos that won him this prize are from ‘Insulae’.
One year later, in 2022, he was one of the winners of the twenty-seventh edition of the documentary photography competition of the Escuela Nacional Sindical.
The jury awarded Raphael Alves the first prize in the category ‘Hombres Trabajadores’ - ‘Workers’ for his series 'Los sepultureros de Manaos' - 'The Gravediggers of Manaus'.
‘Los sepultureros de Manaos’, a series of five photographs, shows the work of 30 gravediggers responsible for burying the hundreds of dead victims of Covid-19 in the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
From the jury report: “Over the past two years, we have seen many images of cemeteries where gravediggers perform the risky task of burying Covid-19 victims. The jury feels that this series stands out for its strong framing and incredible symbolic content. They are very evocative photographs and the way the photographer handles the light reinforces the message and adds a somber tone to the story being told.”
POY International also managed to find him. Raphael Alves received an Award of Excellence in ‘Impact 2021: Covid-19, Year 2’ category for his story ‘Insulae’.
Since around 2014, however, another project has been in play, namely a series intriguingly titled ‘Riversick’, which has now been published in book form.
One image shows a boy, or at least his hands, climbing from the waters of the Rio Negro onto an abandoned ferry. The images in ‘When the waters’, among others, clearly show the interaction between man and his natural environment. And what can happen when the balance is upset. As is now happening in many ways in the rainforest and in large parts of the Amazon. But ‘Riversick’... the title refers to English homesickness and speaks of nostalgia, of longing for the way things were... or should be... that there is hope... always. Is that what this image is about? That beyond the images of destruction and misery, no matter how terrible the reality, there is always hope... and that it should not be given up? I asked Raphael at the time. “That’s how I feel. I still believe in Manaus, in the Amazon rising from the darkness... I think everyone here wants to believe in that in one way or another.”
Much has happened since then. Violent wildfires are devastating large areas of the Amazon rainforest and vital regions of the Pantanal wetlands, both of which are critical for maintaining biodiversity. Cities are shrouded in thick, gray smoke, endangering residents with hazardous air quality.
I asked the same question again: Amidst the stark images of ruin and suffering, no matter how bleak the situation, is there still hope? And should we not cling to it?
“When I was younger, I had more hope. In the last decade, especially since the pandemic, Manaus has become a cradle of bad news and a source of bad memories (violence, pollution, corruption, poor quality of life, moral crisis). Of course, I still believe in better days, since I still live and work here, but I don't think it will be easy to see this region living in peace. Maybe this and the next generations could plant a good seed, but they probably won't see the results...there have been years, decades of bad things happening around here.”
Now available: photobook ‘Riversick’ from photographer Raphael Alves
‘Riversick’ by Raphael Alves is a photographic essay that shows how people and nature share space in and around Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil. Before that, it's a reverie on the relationship between author and place: it's about how the author relates to the different possible (and impossible) Manaus, not the one he inhabits, but the one that lives in him.
The title of the series is a play on words. The idea of homesickness, ‘homesick’, the seasickness caused by the sea, ‘seasick’, and ‘river’, due to the geographical location of Manaus, on the banks of two of the largest rivers in the world: Solimões and Negro.
Get yours through this link: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/MUQCHBE5P8ZRY
The photo book costs R$83 (83 Brazilian Real) and shipping is a flat rate of R$15. There is a surcharge of R$53 for shipping abroad. First edition has sold out. More info: contato@portodecultura.com.br.
Now listening: Devo - Jocko Homo (In The Beginning Was The End: The Truth About De-Evolution)
They tell us that we lost our tails
Evolving up from little snails
I say it's all just wind in sails
We're pinheads now, we are not whole
We're pinheads all, Jocko Homo
Monkey men all in business suits
Teachers and critics all dance the poot
All together now, God made man, but he used the monkey to do it
Apes in the plan and we're here to prove it
I can walk like an ape, talk like an ape, I can do what monkey do
God made man, but a monkey supplied the glue
Are we not men? We are Devo
Are we not men? We are Devo
