Espinha (spine) is a collection of bones and cartilage that supports the body. But it can also be used with reference to a structure, to a construction support.

Espinha is an invitation to visit the universe created by the Brazilian photographer, who grew up in a traditional Japanese family.
Shinji’s work has always been guided by these two cultures and by a mixture of reality and fantasy. His images show a combination of formal and static poses evoking the Japanese pictorial universe, composed of tropical colors and accessories typical of the Brazilian syncretist cult.
A journalist by training and although he does not work in journalism, Shinji creates an intriguing symbiosis of reality and fantasy. His photos are the space where the symbols of African candomblé (an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced in Brazil) and Brazilian carnival combine while maintaining a typical Asian formalism.
The series presented was shot in five Brazilian states: Bahia, São Paulo, Pernambuco, Alagoas and Sergipe between 2015 and 2017.
Conceived as an immersion in the work of the photographer, the exhibition consists of video projections.
Shinji Nagabe was born in 1975, lives and works in Madrid.

www.shinjinagabe.com
https://www.galerielelieu.com/24e-rencontres-photographiques/