Collection: Cristina Cenciarelli

I was born in Rome and started photographing when I was twenty, when I was thirty I wanted to turn my passion into a profession. I studied advertising and went to live in New York for a year, working as an assistant in a studio. In Rome I was an advertising, theater and book photographer and my professional photos appeared in several European and Italian magazines. My original photos were exhibited in galleries and produced in limited edition portfolios. The first time in Brazil, in 1985, I photographed the work of the floats, for a documentary. I published a book about women in cinema. When I moved to Boipeba, in January 2003, I entered Brazil with my entire “past” life in two suitcases: I threw away, sold and gave away what was left, also my photographic journey. To start all over again. In Boipeba, it took me two years to know what I wanted from the island in my images. I understood when the natives started to open the doors of their houses, allowing me to see their lives: from being a photographer of models and actors, I became a portraitist of people who almost didn't know their own faces. I founded the Cultural Association with native friends and, dedicated to the oldest midwife on the island, the library, which won the Mais Cultura Award from the Pedro Calmon Foundation and the Secretariat of Culture of Bahia. In Brazil, I participated in exhibitions and was invited to give lectures presenting my work on Boipeba. My photos are part of private collections. The Brazilian Navy honored me as “Artist of the Year” for my photographic and cultural work on the sea. I was invited to be part of the permanent collection of the Pierre Verger Photography Museum, in Salvador. I am part of the group Fotógrafas Brasileiras, with whom I participated in the Paraty International Photography Festival. I was invited to exhibit at the beautiful Galleria Centoforini, Civitanova, with four other great Brazilian photographers. I am the privileged daughter of Dona Oxum, orixá of fresh waters. I continue photographing Boipeba's everyday poetry.