In 1980 a fire in the studio of Miguel Rio Branco (Brazil, b. 1946) destroyed a great deal of his archive. At the moment the Brazilian multimedia artist is busy reconstructing this twenty year old collection of negatives and prints. By way of the still existing prints he is trying to recover his earlier work again.

In addition to photographing, Rio Branco is a visual artist and maker of films and videos. Generally he exhibits his work in installations in which the various media are combined with one another. As photographer he focuses primarily on minority groups in his homeland, such as gypsies and Indians. Rio Branco feels a connection with these groups on the edge of society; as the son of a diplomat he grew up outside Brazil and feels himself likewise an outsider. Miguel Rio Branco works regularly for the famous Magnum photo agency. He has been awarded countless prizes for his work.

Courtesy André Millan Gallery (BR), Magnum Photos (F)