From the Shut Your Aperture archive (2014): this gallery and any contributor remarks describe their original publication period. The work is credited to Marta Azevedo and its title is preserved as the artist’s original project title. The sitters’ identities and consent details are not documented here.

Black Faces by Marta Azevedo

Project Black Faces by Marta Azevedo

Marta Azevedo originally described Black Faces as a portrait project shaped by memories of Brazil and by people she photographed in Brazil and the United States. She said she used clay, beads, scarves and other elements chosen for the portraits, worked in black and white, and completed the series over roughly ten years. Her 2014 statement described a 2012 book launch and her 2013 move to Rio de Janeiro; those dates and locations are historical, not present-day claims.

I used elements from african/Black culture such as Clay, beads, straws and also objects from the life style like hats, cigars, scarfs, hijabs. I chose the the images in Black and White because I didn’t want the distractions of the colors.
It took me about ten years to finish Black Faces Project. Once a year I traveled to Brazil to photograph the Brazilians.

In September 2012 I launched the book Black Faces in Brazil. In February 2013 I moved back to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.”

Black-and-white portrait of a woman with clay on her faceSavePortrait with patterned fabric wrapped around faceSavePerson looking toward camera beside patterned clothSavePortrait with dotted decorative face paintSavePerson covering mouth with both handsSavePortrait of a person wearing a textured head wrapSaveWoman in a patterned head wrap and dressSaveWoman looking down in a white head wrapSavePerson holding a wrapped hand to their foreheadSaveProfile with dots painted on faceSaveSmiling person holding a light-colored hatSaveClose portrait with shells and face detailSavePerson with eyes closed in black and whiteSave

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