the series Between shadows, I find light, by Rodrigo Pivas, brings together images produced between 2021 and 2022 in street markets in the capital of São Paulo. The work presents a narrative that leads the look through a scenario marked by diversity, in which sounds, colors and movements break the usual flow of the city.
In this course, more than recording the environment, light and shadow are no longer just technical or aesthetic resources to guide the perception of each scene. Photography directs attention to objects and situations that, in the daily life of these spaces, tend to go unnoticed.
In photographic series, images traditionally connect by elements such as framing, shape or theme. In Pivas' work, this articulation gains an additional layer by moving the gaze towards the abstract.
On the whole, there are photographs that approach abstraction by making it difficult to immediately recognize the scene. In one of them, metallic surfaces reflect the fair's awning and fragment the image into planes of color and light, making the objects almost unrecognizable. Only in a second look it is perceived that it is the knives that make up the painting. In another photograph, excess operates in reverse: a religious figure stamped on a t-shirt overlaps with vibrant patterns and transported objects, creating a juxtaposition that defies reading.
Although the use of chiaroscuro, a technique originating from the Renaissance, is recurrent in photography and cinema to create volume and drama, here it assumes a new function: it creates cutouts, suggests shapes and transforms the shadow itself into an internal frame to the image. This is evident in the records of awnings and stacked boxes, where unknown faces are highlighted.
By moving away from direct capture, Pivas challenges the limits of street photography by refusing the immediate and easily readable image. Its series bets on ambiguity and, although it sometimes privileges the form to the detriment of the referent, the work expands its sensory dimension. An atmosphere marked by the overlapping of fabrics, games of colors, silhouettes and textures that transport the viewer into the scenario is built.
Finally, the recurrence of symmetrical structures intensifies the visual impact. It is in this economy of gestures and in the precision of the records that the series finds its strength, affirming itself as a sensitive work on perception, daydreaming and revelation.
Sobre o fotógrafo:
Rodrigos Pivas é fotógrafo paulistano, com formação em Fotografia e Vídeo pelo Senac-SP. Sua pesquisa autoral articula a relação entre indivíduo, espaço urbano e cultura popular.
Sobre a autora:
Jane Gomes é jornalista e profissional de comunicação. Dedica-se aos estudos em História da Arte e desenvolve trabalhos em fotografia e curadoria.
