Rusá - Quermesse (2018)

Throughout the 20th century (especially between the 1940s and 1960s), street festival portrait photographers were like other providers of scarce services and products in the region. In the case of photography, the arrival of the portrait artist was one of the rare opportunities for a large part of the population to have their image perenized. This desire brought the photographic studio and the profession of portrait artist to popular street festivals, such as the Festa do Rosário do Serro.

Understanding this tradition In current days, Tiago Aguiar developed the series Quermesse (2018). After portraying the congado , the artist turned to portraits of the population and visitors who attend the festival.

The old itinerant studios often contained a thematic background with the saint of devotion of the festival or the church of the city. In this series, in addition to developing a visual chronicle of the participants of the festival, Tiago Aguiar sought to reconnect himself and the city with the tradition of the artisanal booth and the photographic background. Behind the portraits we observe a drawing of the Church of Our Lady do Rosario of Serro, Minas Gerais, Brazil, made in graphite and watercolor on canvas painted in a collective studio coordinated by the artist.