Centro - Felipe Russo

In “Centro”, both the images and the objects, I photographed are the direct result of the transformation and the action taking place beneath the surface of the city. I go downtown very early, when the “Centro” in São Paulo is still empty. As an archaeologist I look for what is left behind. I look for silence as a way to subvert our conventional perception of time and space associated with this region of the city. Objects and constructions are the material I seek. When photographed, these objects become monuments that celebrate ephemeral and seemingly insignificant gestures in the urban landscape, gestures that contain a latent energy of yearning and possibility. The images allude to social and historical issues, sometimes very particular to São Paulo, sometimes present in any large metropolis. “Centro” is a particular space in relation to the city where I was born and grew up.