A Hidden View – Images of Bahia, Brasil

Edited and translated by Amanda Hopkinson
Published 1994 by Frontline/Brazilian Contemporary Arts

This - in their own words and images - is the work of six photographers and artists from Bahia, the northeastern region of Brazil. Introduced by their compatriot, the internationally renowned writer Jorge Amado, they reveal fascinating images of an exceptional part of the world.

Miguel Rio Branco focuses on the colour and low-life of the former capital's colonial city centre. Anna Mariani takes a giant step into the interior, closely observing the swift seasonal changes that transform the land from arid desertification to tropical lushness and back. Mario Cravo Neto is a studio based artist whose inspiration is drawn from Afro-Brazilian cultural traditions. Pierre Verger is an ethnologist whose historical photographs reveal a region largely unvisited by Europeans, documenting the once secret religious ceremonies of candomblé.

These, together with a pantheon of gods and their festivals, are also the theme of a series of watercolours painted by the artist Carybé, and the whole is wrapped in the colourful decorations and sculptures of Luiz Figueiredo. Bahia may be a part of the world few of us have seen, but its artists provide us with 'A Hidden View.'