Iguazú is home to one of the world’s largest waterfall systems, surrounded by one of the last significant remnants of the Atlantic Forest. The biome is among the most threatened globally, with over 85% of its original area already destroyed. This environmental crisis directly impacts the region, targeting a territory sustained by the Mbyá’s physical and cultural presence.

The Mbyá have maintained their traditions despite successive colonial settlements and attempts at catechization. While much of the region was transformed from the 17th century onwards, they continued to transmit their language, spirituality, and material culture across generations. At Jasy Porã, this continuity remains tangible in the daily use of native plants for weaving, carving, and other manual crafts.

In Iguazú, these historical and environmental layers intersect. Working alongside the community of Jasy Porã through a shared creative process, we developed a photographic series that fuses community collaboration with constructed scenes, looking at what is carried across generations when a territory is placed under pressure.

This relationship between craft and place is central to our collaborative practice. Labō Young, an artist from the Amazon, works with natural materials to create wearable sculptures that become part of the images, connecting the body to the landscapes from which they emerge. Within this series, these leaf structures function as a renewed act of connection and resistance.

The work documents a thriving but fragmented ecosystem, where the silent passage of animals and the ceaseless movement of water represent vital cycles persisting under threat. By bringing this ecological fragility into relation with the cultural continuity of the community, the series considers what is at stake. Ultimately, it shows that preserving this biodiversity is inseparable from protecting the heritage and the future of the Mbyá.

The series was developed during Artist Immersion at Awasi Iguazú, in August 2026.