In 2004, at just 8 years old, Carolina Braga Ferreira, a Brazilian modernist poet, digital/visual artist, and photographer, received her first camera. With it, the desire to capture something, anything, was already within her: "I felt it was essential to explore new forms of artistic expression beyond the literal representation of the world," she recalls. But how did she know, even at such a young age, without consciously realizing it?
In an almost epistolary manner — and it reminded me of Letters to Theo, perhaps the first artist story I ever read — Carolina wrote to me. Yes, as a poet, she also has the gift of words, and her responses to my questions were, fortunately, a sincere account of her life story as an artist. With a beginning, a middle, and an infinite path still to be traversed in life. Lucky us.
With five works from her Amazônia series (2018) selected for the curatorial project Terra Brasilis: A Digital Tapestry of the Brazilian Imagination by Galerie Gaudard on the Objkt platform, Carolina shared with me her early days as an artist, the daily challenges of maintaining her mental health, and her techniques, aesthetics, and poetics.
Carolina feels the world, and we feel the artist through her pieces.
Phygital Mag: What exactly is atmospheric abstract long-exposure photography? What motivated you to follow this path?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: I believe in capturing unrecognizable and ethereal images, where interpretation varies according to the individual and their feelings. The abstract focuses on visual elements that create intriguing and emotive compositions. It is important to me that the viewer finds their own meaning and sensation in the photographs, stemming from the emotions I experienced while creating them. This connection allows me to relate more deeply to those who see, read, and interpret my work. Art is an intimate experience; it is as if you are in my room, seeing me exposed, dressed, asleep, or awake. You see me in my rawest form.
"I am perpetually interested in experimenting with different photographic techniques and equipment to see how they can be combined to produce unique results."
My journey began in 2004 when I got my first camera at the age of eight. At that time, I did not understand what I wanted to capture or what I was doing. However, the desire to record something, anything, was already present. With this desire, I felt it was essential to explore new forms of artistic expression beyond the literal representation of the world.
At seventeen, with my third camera, now a professional one, life made more sense, and each day felt more worthwhile. I was happy despite going through an extremely fragile period; I had no friends, no longer went out alone, and was undergoing mental health treatment for issues like bipolar disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was an adolescent at the end of my teenage years, wanting to share the things I had seen and experienced without having to say a single word. I cherished silence; my heart always ached. I have always been a naturally sad person.
"My mind is a limbo, and I want to escape it."
As an obsessive and repetitive individual, I continually seek ways to convey specific emotions and atmospheres through photography, utilizing techniques that add layers of complexity and visual interest. I am perpetually interested in experimenting with different photographic techniques and equipment to see how they can be combined to produce unique results.
Through personal experience, I discovered atmospheric abstract photography with long exposure through a process of experimentation and creative exploration. I was drawn to the possibility of creating images that not only captured a moment in time but also conveyed a sense of movement and the passage of time.
By experimenting with long exposures, I realized I could transform common scenes into abstract and atmospheric compositions that evoked feelings and narratives beyond what traditional photography could offer or what I felt.
This discovery opened new doors for creative expression and allowed me to explore the world around me in an entirely new way. The result of my process is photographs that often possess an ethereal and dreamlike quality, evoking feelings, whether good or bad.
Recently, though, I have been able to create new collections, such as "Hope" (available on OBJKT) and "Identity" (available on ZORA), which speak about the hope and joy of escaping the void I was born into and still find myself in. My mind is a limbo, and I want to escape it. "Where is the door?" I ask myself. Speaking about hope and joy artistically might be one of the ways to attain them. I continue to try.
Phygital Mag: How do your feelings and personal experiences directly influence your works?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: I often say that waking up every day means knowing that there is a possibility that I might feel happy or sad, but always sure that art will still be there for me. I've been living my days in isolation, voluntarily reflecting on life and pursuing structured purposes. I don't believe in many things, but do believe that we should be grateful for the food we have to eat and for the existence of art itself.
Issues such as unrequited love, racism, bullying, intense mental suffering during my childhood and adolescence, and suicide attempts have directly influenced my work. The memories of moments of pure joy are also reflected in the colors; I recall times from my childhood with my mother and siblings and wish I could live in those moments. I would give anything to escape the past and also return to it. The artist does not exist without their pain or happiness. I am a wound that constantly bleeds, staining new rooms.
Phygital Mag: How does your poetic practice integrate with your visual and digital art? Is there a connection between the themes you explore in both forms of expression?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: I believe both contexts go hand in hand. When I express myself with words, it is important that every detail is conveyed, explained, and shown — remember, my mind is obsessive and repetitive. It is essential to tell exactly what needs to be told, as if I were asking for help from those who read me, presenting the facts and feelings transparently.
"With photography, I have learned to explain my pain without explicitly stating it; with poetry, I simply embrace who I am, directly."
Poetry is a melancholic record, a more flexible and direct expression of the soul. I also have the urge to talk about sex, which is very important to me. When I express myself through photography, however, I provide paths for the viewer to follow; each path contains a metaphorical, ethereal, intimate, sentimental representation, whether beautiful or ugly.
With photography, I have learned to explain my pain without explicitly stating it; with poetry, I simply embrace who I am, directly. These are two patterns I hold in my mind and heart. As an autistic person, I see the world in a structured way. These are two incessantly sad patterns, but they are honest, true, correct, pure, and dignified, with themes that cannot exist without each other. Is there life without death? Is there death without life? Is there good without evil? Is there evil without good? Life is a tragic pattern.
Phygital Mag: How has your experience been in the international art market? What have been the biggest challenges and rewards you have encountered over these seven years?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: My experience in the international art market has been a continuous learning journey, filled with significant challenges and rewards. Over these seven years, I have faced various obstacles, such as racism and xenophobia, but have also celebrated achievements that motivate me to continue my artistic path.
Understanding and adapting to the cultural preferences and expectations of different markets is a complex task. What is appreciated in one country may not resonate the same way in another. Exposure to different cultures and artistic perspectives has made me grow both personally and professionally.
"I believe that artists should support each other."
Establishing a presence in the international market requires time, effort, and empathy. Understanding that I do not wish to compete with artists from different parts of the world and standing out in such a competitive scene has been one of the greatest difficulties.
I believe that artists should support each other. I love others' art because it evokes something in me. How can one not be grateful to someone who moves you? This is the greatest reward — finding people who express themselves with the same tools but convey different or similar messages. Through the commercialization of my art, I am able to maintain my mental health treatment and also provide for my mother. There is no greater gratitude than this.
Phygital Mag: What attracted you to the world of NFTs? How do you see the relationship between digital art and the cryptocurrency market?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: I wanted a more modern and free way to share my art with a global audience because the traditional art market is somewhat rigid and, frankly, very traditional. What attracted me to the world of NFTs was the opportunity to explore new forms of engagement. Fortunately, I've made many friends and contacts and intend to always consider the possibility of taking my art beyond through NFTs.
Let's not forget that there are innovative platforms like Teia, OBJKT, Zora, Foundation, and others, where digital artists can post their works, allowing them to sell their art as unique and collectible items, ensuring authenticity and ownership through blockchain technology. This represents a significant shift in how art is bought, sold, and valued. It's a very powerful, dynamic relationship between art and money!
Phygital Mag: You mention living in isolation and voluntary reflection. How does this period of introspection influence your artistic and literary production?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: I stopped fighting against the demons that were born with me and still live with me. I don't read the Bible to them anymore, you know? Metaphorically speaking. I won't hurt them anymore. I feed them to stay alive. Staying at home was the only way I found to keep myself alive.
Staying home didn't start as a voluntary act. Mental illness begins very insidiously, slowly, without you realizing it exists. There are some signs, I can't deny, but if you're suffering so much, how will you notice them?
"People don't like to talk about their pain, but I need to."
My life changed drastically at 16, for reasons I still can't make public, and then my soul detached from my body. I also say I have a broken spirit, especially after 2019. The trauma was so great that I simply didn't return to who I was, even though I was already someone (at the time, a child or teenager) emotionally unstable.
People don't like to talk about their pain, but I need to. "Can I come over?" "Shall we go out?" These are constant questions I get from people, to which I have to say no and explain why. People want to know, to understand, but it's nothing extraordinary. It's like being so, so physically ill that you can't get out of bed, you know? Some think it's cool not to have to leave the house, but it's not. I've been so ill that I couldn't go to the doctor, for example. If the doctor hadn't actively helped me, I might have died.
I am a full-time artist, constantly in touch with my thoughts and feelings. The frequency and manner in which I create art is more intense and much, much sadder, as I feel like I've left this world we all live in. I simply can't remember the last time I went out alone and had an ice cream, for example. You might say it's sad, and perhaps it is, but things are what they are, pain is what it is, and we are who we are. I don't believe there is a cure for everything or every pain. Time can comfort us or repel us.
Phygital Mag: Do you have any specific rituals or processes you follow before creating your works? Could you share a bit about your workflow?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: When I'm not feeling numb or extremely sad, I have some rituals and processes that I follow before creating my works, which help me get into the necessary mental state for artistic creation, such as listening to music.
"If you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. Seek help, don't give up, please."
Art is like a record of what has happened. If I'm very sad, I can't create. Can you think rationally when you're crying desperately? It's like that. However, if I'm in a manic phase, I can create art all the time, twenty-four hours or more, and even forget to eat, bathe, or sleep, as has happened many times. I know it's not healthy, which is why I understand the need for medication. By the way, I want to use this interview to say that if you or someone you know is struggling, you are not alone. Seek help, don't give up, please.
My work is about the act of time. It all starts with the desire to have something concrete, and then I find myself in the dark. I am the light itself and I draw freely and spontaneously in the air so that the long exposures happen. Photos are opened in several different image editing programs and complemented by digital art. My base is always photography because I have always expressed myself with it.
My workflow is intense due to the intensity of my feelings. They want to be portrayed, so they urge me constantly. I constantly have to depict life and death within me.
Phygital Mag: You state that art saves you completely. How does art play this transformative role in your life?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: If it weren't for my mother and art, I would have no reason to live. When I see the finished inner representation, I realize that I'm not crazy and that it happened. Art, being a record, consists of self-centered chapters. Perhaps art is excessively selfish, but it needs to exist. Art has an incredible power to touch the deepest parts of our humanity.
Phygital Mag: Regarding the Amazônia series, could you tell me about the inspiration, technique, aesthetics, and poetics involved? What is your favorite piece in the series?
Carolina Braga Ferreira: Our greatest heritage is the Amazon rainforest, tended by native peoples for so long, who were killed by white colonizers. I am Brazilian — the blood of the murdered natives accompanies me to this day. The Amazon rainforest is an almost divinely wonderful world, which unfortunately has been and will continue to be greatly exploited. The series reveals the hidden beauties of our greatest treasure.
"Can you imagine yourself inside the Amazon rainforest? I imagine myself there every time I create a new piece for this series."
The pieces in the Amazônia series (2018) hold vibrant colors and secrets, given the rich species of fauna and flora. Can you imagine yourself inside the Amazon rainforest? I imagine myself there every time I create a new piece for this series.
I would like to leave home to buy a present for my mother, to swim again in the deep pool where I used to swim when I was eight because I loved the silence at the bottom of the pool — there were no screams or pain, only silence. I would also like to leave home and, perhaps, respectfully enter this mysterious world of the native peoples.
My favorite piece in the series is the first one, Wildflowers, created in 2018 when I began studying about the forest and its medicinal plants and animals. It was like dreaming while awake. Living is like daydreaming.
These pieces by Carolina Braga Ferreira that you've seen in this article were selected for the ongoing curation 'Terra Brasilis: A Digital Tapestry of Brazilian Imagination' by Galerie Gaudard on the Objkt.com platform. You can check them out and add them to your collection — all are available on the primary or secondary market.
FIND.FOLLOW.FORWARD
Carolina Braga Ferreira
Website | X | Warpcast | Objkt | Zora
PHYGITAL MAG: ART | FASHION CULTURE | WEB3
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