Premio Combat Prize

Seizures: Seeing so frequently the almost infinite number of
police seizures shown in the press, the seed of this project was sown. However,
these news items end up seeming almost normal. They cease to shock us. The paradox of the excess of information is precisely this: the more we see, the less we perceive. We are “blinded from seeing so
much”. The option to rework the photos of seized items as assemblages,
with the creation of images rich in detail, and in size and formats
that are not usual for this subject, is connected to this premise.
The road to achieve this kind of inventory of a peculiarly
Brazilian tragedy was long and hard.
Throughout this process I met with several suprises: one was the
wide range of formats for the prints, that was not initially envisaged, but ended up being an integral part of the work; another was discovering so many ready-made scenes, as well as meeting truly extraordinary people and situations. The world in these images says something about us all, and though they do not intend to give answers, they can offer a certain form of apprehension.
bio: Since the start of his professional career, at sixteen, in the studios of the publishers Editora Abril, São Paulo born Bob Wolfenson (1954) has worked with every major photographic genre. He is one of the most highly respected Brazilian portrait, nude and fashion photographers, and moves freely between the worlds of publicity and the art. He has published books including Jardim da Luz (Editora DBA/Companhia das Letras, 1996), Moda no Brasil por brasileiros (Cosac Naify, 2003) with Paulo Borges, Antifachada / Encadernação dourada (Cosac Naify, 2004), Cinepolis (Schoeler, 2009) and Apreensões (Cosac Naify, 2010, National Library Award for graphic design project). He is also the creator and editor of the art and fashion magazine s/n. Wolfenson’s works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo (Pirelli-Masp Collection), the Museum of Modern Art of São Paulo, The Museum of Brazilian Art – Faap, Itaú Cultural and Zachętta Gallery Warsaw, among others.