Model on the Yellow Machine 100 x 100 cm

Wooden Machines & Models

Created in April 2001 on the coast of Mostardas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, this series brings fashion into an unexpected landscape between Lagoa dos Patos and the Atlantic Ocean, near the ecological reserve of Lagoa do Peixe.

Two models encounter extraordinary vehicles built by local artisanal fishermen: old 4x4s transformed into powerful wooden-bodied machines, adapted to withstand the corrosive sea air and pull heavy nets from the ocean. Constructed outdoors with ingenuity and necessity, these vehicles became sculptural symbols of work, resilience and life on the southern shore.

Photographed on Fuji Velvia 50 ISO color transparency film with analog cameras, including my Hasselblad 503 CW, the series unites elegance, landscape and vernacular invention. Wooden Machines & Models is my tribute to the fishermen of Mostardas and to the singular beauty of their world.