Nicola Dracoulis

Welcome! This page is now open for print sales from the project. Available prints can be found in the column on the right.

The awesome news -> This project has been selected for exhibition at 2014 Head On Photo Festival Sydney in May!

If you would like to continue supporting this project please buy a print. Profits are going into the fund for the costs exhibition which is going to cost around $3,500.

Please come join and follow the project on facebook here: www.facebook.com/livinginthemiddle

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The Pozible Campaign, September 2013:

I am among six people who have been selected (out of 450 applications) to an artists residency at Barracão Maravilha, a contemporary arts space in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from mid-October to mid-November 2013.

This residency will enable me to revisit and expand on a photographic project I produced in 2006 called Viver no Meio do Barulho (Living in the Middle of the Noise). At that time I interviewed and photographed 8 young people living in 4 favelas (shantytowns/slums) across Rio in context of their involvement with NGO AfroReggae an organisation who uses culture as a tool for social change. After eight years I now plan to reconnect with and photograph these people.

Building upon my established relationship, I aim to invite the subjects to work with me on their portrait, photographing them in their homes and neighbourhoods. I still have friends in Rio who can help me get back in contact with most of the young people. I have already set the ball in motion and am confident I can get time with the majority of them.

WHY BRAZIL? WHY NOW?

All eyes are on Brazil with the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the 2016 Olympics and recent social uprisings. Since 2006, the country has undergone a number of changes, I will be meeting with a new version of the Rio and asking these young adults to share their personal experiences at a significant moment in their lives with the added insight of how their lives were 8 years ago.

The geography is localised, but experiences can be reflected on a universal level of contemporary personal and social issues, life as a young adult in a globalised world, and life in the shadow of massive change.

My project is important because it will provide a unique in-depth insight into people’s lives. Photography plays an important role in educating people about our world and I believe in using photography to promote global awareness. This project is an opportunity to open a window for wider audiences to see into the lives of young adults in Brazil.

OUTCOMES

There are several outcomes to my project, one will be the culmination of a long-term project that is close to my heart. This time around I aim to focus more on the portrait itself than the journey through the neighbourhoods, but I will still be researching and investigating their surroundings.

The physical outcome will be a set of photographs from 2006 exhibited alongside the new photographs. I will have an initial showing/presentation of my work during my final days at the residency, and will be seeking opportunities to exhibit and publish the work in Australia and London on my return.

WHO ARE THESE 'YOUNG PEOPLE' YOU KEEP REFERRING TO??

Roberto Monteires Guimares aka Bebel. Aged 23 in 2006. Vigário Geral. Sadly, Bebel passed away in 2007, I aim to reconnect with his family to tell his story. Rafael Tesceieras. Aged 17 in 2006.
Complexo Do Alemão.
Alexsander Costa Magalona, aka Lecão. Aged 18 in 2006. Vigário Geral. Singer of Minha Trajetoria (Viver No Meio do Barulho).
Marciana Oliveira de Menezes. Aged 18 in 2006. Complexo Do Alemão. Jessica Dos Santos Nascimento. Aged 17 years in 2006.
Vigário Geral.
Anaderges de Jesus Souza. 15 years old in 2006, Vigário Geral Juliano Ferreira Dos Santos. Aged 20 years in 2006. Cantagalo, a 'morro' overlooking Ipanema.
Jessica Penha. Aged 15 old in 2006.
Cantagalo
Heberson Alves, aka Binho. 20 years old in 2006.
Parada de Lucas. Learn more about their stories in the original interactive project here: www.nicoladracoulis.com/ViverNoMeio/
(A little tip - click on the pics in the page, it was designed for exhibtion, not as a website!)

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