Vol. 10 No. 22 (2023): Essays of Geography

Pier at Praia da Bica, Jardim Guanabara – Ilha do Governador, Rio de Janeiro, November 18, 2022.

Whenever I start a photo session, upon arriving at a place that evokes affection, I take my decisive shot. "This is what I want to talk about today." Limiting, even if only virtually, the space where I will inhabit and investigate during these looks, has always proved necessary, even without knowing where I will end up at the end of the session.

This pier is located at Praia da Bica, which is in Jardim Guanabara, south of Ilha do Governador, an administrative region of the city of Rio de Janeiro. In the middle of the frame, the only person present in the scene seems to be heading towards the water, as if it were an extension of the land. But not from the center of the pier; there was a choice to move to the side. And later, as I could witness, to sit there and contemplate.

Leaving the man's height proportional to the extent of water in front of him in perspective seems to produce a real possibility of this path that could be followed by the bay. However, the impossibility of reaching the landscape of the city of Rio de Janeiro becomes more present than before when you reach the end. Now, more than ever, you are invited to look. The expanse of water, the emptiness near the pier, the structural aesthetic similarities of the pier and the Rio-Niterói Bridge in the background, the densification of boats as you approach the city center – the contrasts emerge as your gaze travels through the image.

This day was no different. However, I am fortunate that this place is 50 meters from my house and evokes an affection that, after three years living abroad, is not too hard to reach. Even so, this was the first shot that dictated the direction of a session that told me a lot about the city, our relationship with it over the years, and the moment to stop and look at what matters.

The pier was not even renovated at the time. Still, despite the visible fragility sculpted by time in the twisted planks, the broken support pillars, and the absence of the ropes that were once present there, the landscape of the city of Rio de Janeiro is not contained. It calls for a look, inviting a brief journey to the edge, bringing a stark contrast to the calmness of the bay.

At the moment, I decided to write from the pier, now already renovated, but still seeming fragile, in parallel with the bridge. There is a light and continuous breeze. The view of Rio de Janeiro ahead is not as clear as the day of this photo. However, it seems that this space suspended over the water between land and sea, with the sound of the streets of Jardim Guanabara behind me, the buses passing, the pruning of trees, creates a momentary isolation that the urban environment generally does not permit.

As I suppose about the man in the image, it seems I come here not seeking time, nor even silence, but space to think. Today, with such short depths of field, jumping from one screen to another, I feel, more than ever, the need for this pause to see what is further away. And in a simple journey to the edge of the pier, though the body stays, the mind embarks.

Sony A7iii - 85mm 1.8

Gabriel Puente

Photographer

@puentegabriel