Nelly Santos Photographe

Je suis une femme , photographe de profession et de coeur. Passionnée de culture afro-brésilienne.Ayant vécu à Bahia de nombreuses années et adepte du candomblé. Fille De Yansan et d'Oxossi. Amie et admiratrice inconditionnelle du photographe et ethnologue Pierre Verger.Cet espace est consacré aux professionnels de la photographie et de la musique ( jazz ,blues....) ainsi qu'à mes invités. Dragueurs de tous poils s'abstenir !!!!..Liens:Radio France International http://www.rfi.fr/actubr/articles/075/article_283.aspInforma tissimafotografia.ithttp://www.informatissimafotografia.it/m ostrearchivio.asp?Artista=Nelly%20SantosSophot.com http://www.sophot.com/fr/photographes/fiche.php?user_id=306B razilianartists.http://www.brazilianartists.net/events/brazi lyearinfrance/index.htmNelly Santos lived and worked in Brazil for a number of years and more particularly in Salvador in the state of Bahia. She discovered Salvador in 1990. There, she met the photographer and ethnologist Pierre Verger with whose ethnological studies on Yoruba religions and the wonderful photos devoted to the Yoruba people, she was familiar. It was the beginning of a great friendship which ever since, has had a considerable influence on her life. She left Rio and ended up moving to Salvador. Pierre Verger was her mentor in helping her to deepen her understanding of the Afro-Brazilian religion, the ‘candomble‘. Nelly Santos devoted ten years of her life to on the spot research and her substantial records are the fruits of this work. For her own research, she ensconced herself in one of the cult’s places called Orixas on the island of Itaparica where she was initiated into it. As she was “a daughter of the house” she was able to take her photos of the rituals. She was assigned the role of keeper of the community’s visual memory by the Babalorixà, or Father of the Saints. Being at the heart of the cult’s activities over a number of years she recorded the public and private rituals as well as the lives of community members. She travelled the country and collaborated with the administrative authority of Bahia state, Bahiatursa, and made a contribution to the promotion of this particularly attractive part of Brazil. As a representative of Bahiatursa she participated in the commemoration of Brazil’s Fifth Centenary. Nelly Santos, has been very involved in the defence of the rights of the indigenous peoples of Brazil since the 1970s. She often went to the South of the state to photograph Pataxó Indians. With great emotion, she spent several days recording the historic event of the first-ever gathering of indigenous people in Brazil at Coroa Vermelha. In Rio, as in Salvador, Nelly devoted a lot of her photos to the world of music and obviously, to the Carnival. Alongside her work on the people of North-East Brazil, Nelly Santos is passionately fond of Nature. She has photographed the countryside and flora as much in Brazil to which she returns once a year, as in her native France. Her photos of flowers blooming in the French countryside have been exhibited in Brazil where the beauty of rural France in spring and autumn has captivated many Bahia folk. She managed to combine her passions for people and nature in equal measure her compositions which reconnects the human to his or her natural and cultural environment. Her portrayal of the human body photographed with objects or plants linked to the Afro-Brazilian cults, reflect her attachment to the African Diaspora et reveals the beauty of that people which has known preserve so dearly its cultural heritage. Nelly has lived in France for the last five years, whilst continuing her work on the people of Bahia. Her work can be seen in several exhibitions. She pursues her love of music through the big jazz festivals. Her latest major project with the title of “Pathways of faith” is in course of preparation. It will be devoted to different religions and the way that they are given expression. This foregoing account reflects the friendship and mutual confidence established over the years with the different communities where Nelly has lived and worked.Meu mundo magico do Brasil amado com a inesquecivél CLEMENTINA DE JÉSUS