Series description
‘When all the shamans have died, I think the sky will fall. (...) The forest will be destroyed and the weather will be dark. If there are no more shamans to hold up the sky, it will not stay in place. The whites are just ingenious, they ignore shamanism, they are not the ones who will be able to hold up the sky (...) Not only the Yanomami are going to die, but all the whites too. No one is going to escape the fall of the sky.’ David Kopenawa, shaman and leader of the Yanomami people of the Amazon rainforest.
The Yanomami Indigenous Territory occupies parts of the states of Roraima and Amazonas in Brazil, and is marked by illegal mining, malaria and malnutrition. In January 2023, indigenous and socio-environmental entities denounced an ongoing humanitarian tragedy in the area.
Biography
Born in Manaus (Amazonas, Brazil), Raphael Alves obtained a degree Master of Arts in Photojournalism and Documentary Photography at the London College of Communication / University of the Arts, in London (ING).
In addition to collaborating with national and international media in his region, he is a member of the Everyday Brasil project. His photography is dedicated to understanding the role and positioning of human beings in the space divided by nature and the urban.
The Falling Sky
A Yanomami woman with severe malaria and signs of malnutrition receives assistance after arriving on a plane at an airport in the city of Boa Vista, the capital of Roraima, Brazil. The Brazilian government has declared a health emergency for the Yanomami people.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
A Gaze For Hope
A Yanomami child is seen in a tree near a field hospital set up in the city of Boa Vista. The hospital cares for the indigenous people who are experiencing a health and humanitarian crisis.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Lifeless
The Mucajaí River, one of the main sources of water and livelihood (fishing) for the Yanomami people, photographed during an overflight over their indigenous land. Today, the river is lifeless, due to the contamination from deforestation and the use of heavy metals in illegal mining.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Isolated, But Not That Much
An aerial view of an indigenous maloca (communal dwelling) on the land of the Yanomami people, in the Amazonian state of Roraima. Despite living on their lands, the Yanomami are increasingly suffering from the proximity of illegal mining, which also brings crime and disease to their region.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Malnutrition
A health professional from the Brazilian armed forces carries a Yanomami baby with signs of severe malnutrition at the field hospital set up by the Brazilian Air Force in Boa Vista.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Gold Rush
An illegal mining worker shows gold taken from the lands of the indigenous Yanomami people, in Roraima, Brazil.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Into the Wild
Illegal mining workers leave the lands of the indigenous Yanomami people in Roraima. They have to leave on foot through the middle of the forest, as the Federal Government has closed the region’s airspace to combat the flow of illegal miners. Some of the miners have to walk for more than a week through dense forest to leave the indigenous land.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Exodus
Illegal miners leave the Yanomami Indigenous Territory. Many miners have to spend a lot of their savings to leave the indigenous lands, hiding from police officers after the Brazilian government ordered an end to illegal mining in the region.
© Raphael Alves, Brazil, Shortlist, Professional competition, Documentary Projects, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards