ROYAL ACADEMY OF ARTS
I’m JC Candanedo, a London-based socially-engaged Multidisciplinary Artist and Photographer, and this is my work commissioned by the Royal Academy of Arts, in collaboration with BuildHollywood and Gustavo Dias-Vallejo, for which I took portraits of Brazilian migrants in London who work in the delivery industry to explore questions related to identity, labour, and migration from a contemporary perspective.
The inspiration for the portraits came from two paintings by artists featured in the exhibition Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism at the Royal Academy of Arts: Migrants by Candido Portinari (1955) and “O Vendedor de Frutas” by Tarsila do Amaral (1925). The intention was to photograph them with their motorbikes and accessories turning the lamenting aesthetic from the paintings into a celebratory one, showcasing them proud of who they are and what they do and how they manage to consolidate their family lives in London.
The images were displayed on poster boards in Camden Market and on billboards around the country.
