Christian Cravo Waters of Hope, Rivers of Tears
Amazonia, Riomadeira, 2004
Anecho, Benin, 1995
Brazil, Santos, 2004
Haiti, Sodo, 2001
Sodo, Haiti, 2007
India, Sagar, 2002
India, Sonepur, 2001
Haiti, Sodo, 2002
India, Allahabad, 2001
Varanasi, India, 2008
Artist's statement
In today’s world, the scientific concept of the evolution of life on Earth provides a limited appreciation of the role of water in our lives. This view needs to be revisited in order to broaden the reality of the facts: seeing water as a source of life, instead of just an infrastructural resource required for the well-being of all societies.
Since the very earliest times, when the four elements – water, earth, fire and air – were identified as vehicles for communicationwith the sacred, the sacramental use of water in baptismal ceremonies (religious initiations) and purification rites has given it a special place in the human imagination and the religious unconscious. In some cultures, water is used as a kind of link between humankind and the divine.
The aim of this project is to draw a visual parallel between religious expressions and the element of water in specific parts of the planet, such as West Africa, the Middle East, the Amazon and Southeast Asia – regions wherewater is essential to the religious, ethnic and cultural survival of their peoples. The Waters of Hope, Rivers of Tears project aims to use powerful images to portray the delicate ‘balance’ that still exists between humankind and nature, challenging “contemporary” people to see water as not just monetary merchandise or a political tool but the result of divine inspiration.
About the photographer
1974, Salvador, Brazil
Danish/Brazilian
Brazil
Christian Cravo is a self-taught photographer whose work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally. His photographs are featured in many significant collections worldwide such as the Museum of Modern Art, Salvador and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, New York, Museum de Arte Moderna, Salvador, Brazil, Musset for Fotokunst, Odense, Denmark, El Museo del Barrio, New York. As well as his major publications Irredentos (USA 2000), Roma noire, Vile metisse (France 2005), Espiritoculto (Brazil 2006) his photographs have been featured in numerous books, magazines and catalogues. His work has been recognised through the award of scholarships and prizes including the Mother Jones Fund for Documentary Photography, (USA 2000); Bolsa Vitae de Artes, (Brazil 2000), the John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, (USA 2001) and the Amherst Collaborative Production Award, (USA 2008).
Water shortlist
Benoit Aquin, The Chinese 'Dust Bowl', 2006-2007
Edward Burtynsky, Selected works, 1996-2007
Jesus Abad Colorado, Landscapes and Battles: Two wings wait for the end of the tragedy, 1995-2002
Thomas Joshua Cooper, The World's Edge - The Atlantic Basin Project, 1998-2006
Sebastian Copeland, Antarctica - The Global Warning, 2006
Christian Cravo, Waters of Hope, Rivers of Tears, 1995-2008
Lynn Davis, Ice, 1988-2007
Carl De Keyzer, Moments before the Flood, 2006-2007
Reza Deghati, War and Peace, 1994-2006
Susan Derges, Eden & The Observer and the Observed, 1991-2008
Malcolm Hutcheson, Lahore's Waste Water Problem, 2008
Chris Jordan, In Katrina's Wake: Portraits of Loss from an Unnatural Disaster, 2005
David Maisel, Terminal Mirage & The Lake Project, 2001-2004
Mary Mattingly, Second Nature and Time Has Fallen Asleep, 2004-2008
Robert Polidori, After The Flood, 2005-2006
Roman Signer, Body of Work, 1976-2000
Jules Spinatsch, Snow Management, 2004-2008
Munem Wasif, Water Tragedy: Climate Refugee of Bangladesh, 2007