Looming over glass and steel, red brick boxes with corrugated roofs creep and spread up the hillside, casting long shadows across the city beneath. In these winding alleys, souls are born like sparks, flaring bright against the night’s sky. Some burn longer, some vanish in a flash, but all leave their heavy traces on the landscape.

Over a two-year period, I immersed myself in the vibrant heart of Morro dos Prazeres, a favela nestled in the hills of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I initially arrived to work on a social project but soon felt compelled to live within the community itself, spending over six months in total as a temporary neighbour. This experience became the foundation for The ’77 Project, a body of work that portrays the daily rhythm of life in a place too often reduced to stereotypes of violence or hardship.

Through intimate portraits and quiet observations, I sought to photograph what holds this community together: the strength of relationships, the gestures of care and the shared rhythm of daily life. I was drawn to the ways people created beauty and dignity in small moments. Children playing football at dusk, neighbours sharing food, friends laughing between the rough brick walls of half-built homes. These images are as much about resilience as they are about tenderness, revealing the quiet humanity that endures through change and challenge.

Living within Morro dos Prazeres allowed me to move beyond the role of an observer. The camera became a bridge, an instrument of trust and mutual curiosity. Every photograph is the result of a dialogue, a moment of exchange with those who welcomed me into their lives. In a place shaped by social and economic challenges, strength is found in connection. The people I photographed draw power from the bonds that hold their community together, reminding us that solace and resilience are not opposites to hardship but forces that sustain life.

Ultimately, The ’77 Project is a tribute to those who continue to rise, to care and to find light in the most unexpected places. It is both a personal record of my time in Morro dos Prazeres and a collective portrait of a community that taught me the true meaning of solidarity and hope.

Photographed over the period of 2024–2025.