July « 2013 « burn magazine

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Fernanda is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

Bodies and Souls

ESSAY CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT

For the past two years, photographer Ana Carolina Fernandes coexisted within a transvestite community, spending time in a large house where they live in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro.

This time of familiarity, complicity and trust diluted any kind of pre-judgment one could possibly have about this community, which is invariably stigmatized by society.

In this photographic essay, life pulses in citrus colors and in the delusional imaginary of these boys and women, who don’t allow themselves to be ranked by inaccurate demarcations. These photographs tell us about the permanent search for identity and happiness, two points that connect us all, without any distinction of gender or social class.

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Shaw is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Nathiele is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Aline is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Valeria and Shaw live are soime of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Valeria is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Tiazinha is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Tiazinha is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Patricia is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

The objective of this work was not only to give a voice to a group of people who are excluded from society but also to show the sensuality and beauty in bodies that are both masculine and feminine at the same time.

This essay was published in the Brazilian magazine Piauí. It is currently on exhibit in a gallery in Rio de Janeiro.

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Sheila is one of them. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

In an old house in the neighborhood of Lapa, in Rio de Janeiro, live and work as prostitutes, about 25 tranvestites. Photo: Ana Carolina Fernandes

Bio

Ana Carolina Fernandes, Brazilian, works as a freelance photographer for newspapers, magazines, and international news agencies.

From 2008 to 2012 she developed personal projects, and authored and created documentary pieces such as the book “PRAINHA” and the essay MEM De Sa 100 about transvestites in Lapa, Rio de Janeiro.