In this series of images shot in several countries, Gustavo Minas uses the concept of “Liquid Modernity”, by Zygmunt Bauman, to deal with the transitory nature of contemporary cities and the transformations in human relations which result from it. These images are an attempt to captures multiple layers of reality, defined by different personal needs of multiple socioeconomic groups. The photo locations are often places of passage, or non-places, built to reinforce, in the name of fear and security, isolation, alienation and dehumanization in social and cultural relations. The images show that the contemporary city does not have a single, linear landscape configuration and this plurality is further accentuated by the ubiquitous speed of technology. This project has been shortlisted for Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2023.
Author's biography
Born in Cássia, a small town in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, Gustavo Minas graduated in Journalism before moving to London, where he worked as a waiter for a year. Upon returning to Brazil, he became a reporter for a popular newspaper in São Paulo. The long hours, weekend shifts, and repetitive routine left him deeply unfulfilled, prompting him to seek a new path through photography.
In 2009, he studied for a year under Brazilian master Carlos Moreira, an experience that profoundly transformed his life and artistic vision. Inspired by Moreira’s philosophy and by masters of color and light such as Harry Gruyaert, Alex Webb, and Gueorgui Pinkhassov, he turned to the streets as his primary field of exploration.
Photography quickly became an essential daily practice. As he wandered through São Paulo, he learned the city’s hidden shortcuts and embraced the quiet pleasure of photographing while the rest of the city rushed to work. Since then, he has photographed every day—at home or in the streets—drawn irresistibly by light. If the conditions outside are right, staying indoors becomes nearly impossible.
While light and reflections are central formal elements in his work, he is ultimately most inspired by the lives of others. The human condition within urban space remains the defining theme of his practice.
In 2014, Minas moved to Brasília, a city whose modernist architecture presented new challenges for street photography. After several months, he discovered the city’s central bus station, the Rodoviária do Plano Piloto, as an oasis of chaos within Brasília’s rigid urban order. Since 2015, he has devoted himself to photographing this space.
The resulting body of work won a category prize at Pictures of the Year Latam in 2017 and was exhibited at Centro de Fotografía de Montevideo in 2018, and later at the 17th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia in 2021. The project also led to the publication of his first book, Maximum Shadow Minimal Light, released by Edition Lammerhuber and launched alongside a solo exhibition at Freelens Galerie in 2019.
In 2022, his Liquid Series was presented in a solo exhibition at Galeria Fiesp. The same project was later nominated for the Leica Oskar Barnack Award.
Over the past few years, Minas has taught workshops internationally and launched his online course, Introduction to Street Photography, on Domestika.
He believes that under certain light, nothing appears ordinary. Photography has become his way of understanding both himself and the world, as well as a means of connecting with people. With a camera in hand, boredom disappears, and every moment becomes an opportunity for discovery.