Thaís Medina (Brazil, 1978) has spent the last fourteen years researching and working on conceptual-photographic documentations about visual representations that are generated from the Afro-Brazilian religious practices. From a documentary perspective and with an anthropological viewpoint, the intention is to deconstruct these representations in order to understand the various influences that nourish.

With her photographs Thaís attempts to describe and understand these practices: affiliation of its participants, ceremonies, rituals and symbols. But also performed an exploratory work, going into the sub-systems that support these beliefs: production, marketing and consumption of objects of worship both in its magic as commercial (statues, prints, incense, candles, etc.), depending on their materiality, design and specific functions within communities.

Her work attempts to capture the complexity of these systems: religious syncretism inherent in them, hybridity as regional characteristic and different mutations they suffer in relation to the changes that society in general experience.

Thaís has been developing and exhibiting her projects in Brazil, Spain, England, Ireland, Hungary, Australia, Georgia and Portugal. Her latest collaboration was in The Tate Gallery, in Sydney (Australia), in 2013, Kolga Photo Awards in Tblisi (Georgia), and Encontros da Imagem Festival of Braga (Portugal), in 2014. At the present time she divides her work between Latin America and Europe, looking research topics and collaborations in these two continents.

Here in Flickr you´ll find a random selection of my pictures, but, if you wanna know more about my work, please visit www.thaismedina.com or

cargocollective.com/thaismedinaphoto/ or

thaismedinaphoto.tumblr.com/

instagram.com/thaismedinaphoto/