Perspectives Shortlist

This Is Heaven is an ongoing project that aims to shed light on the world of funerals, treating death not as a heavy, fearful event, but as a routine part of life. Over the space of five months, the photographer explored unique and often hidden environments, with the aim of opening a deeper dialogue about life’s finitude and normalising conversations around death and the people who work with it.

Bárbara Monteiro is a freelance photographer with a special focus on documentary work, portraiture and architecture. She has a special interest in social and existential themes and wants her work to raise pertinent issues in society.

She was born in Oliveira do Hospital in 1991 and graduated in journalism from the Escola Superior de Comunicação Social, where she studied photojournalism. She began developing the THIS IS HEAVEN project in 2023.