Renan Otto

Renan Otto began his journey in photography in 2010 by documenting his daily life within urban movements. In 2011, after connecting with the "Favela em Foco" collective, he started documenting the impacts of mega-event construction projects (the World Cup and the Olympic Games), particularly on Rio de Janeiro's favelas. In 2012, he joined the Escola de Fotografia Popular (School of Popular Photography), a project created by documentary photographer João Roberto Ripper in the Maré favela complex aimed at teaching shared photography, goodwill, and photography as a tool for activism. Born in São Gonçalo, Rio de Janeiro, Otto focuses his work on the struggle for housing and the right to the city, the beauty found in daily tasks, and the resistance of residents in favelas, urban occupations, and peripheries, in addition to capturing and encouraging marginalized or endangered popular festivals and cultural expressions.

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"I view photography as an instrument of personal transformation that affects the photographer, the subject, and the viewer. This exchange of realities creates a connection among these three actors and demonstrates that photography is not made alone, no matter how solitary the photographer might feel. Photography puts us in someone else's shoes, allows us to see the world from different perspectives, and helps us understand issues that, even if not directly linked to us, influence our lives. We do not walk alone in this world; that is the connection I seek in my photography: a collective evolution. Light not just for me, but for all of us."