Katia Lombardi

Born in 1967 – Sao Joao Del Rei, Brazil. Lives and works in Belo Horizonte, Brazil

 

“Untitled”, photography, 1996 / 1997
Venues: National Center of Dance

 

Kátia Lombardi’s pictures spent many years in the archive of the newspaper where she worked, until the photographer decided to rescue them from their "journalistic” status.  These images are shown here for the first time in the context of art, and outside the pages of the “Notícias Populares” – a sensationalistic daily newspaper in Sao Paulo. 
In middle of the 1990s, sensationalism in the press made a comeback. Publications gave new packaging to gruesome facts, both in the language they used and the information they contained.  It was the era of the “ham (corpse)-stretched–on-the-ground-beside-a-naked-busty-blonde” – both bodies sharing the same page. Without wanting to draw a comparison with the dramatic work of Wegee, there is something sublime in the lights, colours and compositions of Katia’s pictures from the late-night shift. 
Nothing (or almost nothing) has changed in Brazil as far as murders go.  But neo-sensationalist news is no more a novelty, and “Notícias Populares” has closed.  Although dead bodies are still being photographed for other newspapers, Kátia’s pictures resisted the torrent of information. In her pictures, we feel time passing and, because of this, they are ever-more powerful encapsulations of a fleeting moment. (Rodrigo Moura)

Selected Exhibitions
2001 “Impressions Project: Cuba”
      Casa Latina – Belo Horizonte
1999 “Photographic Exchange:  Minas / Sergipe / Paraíba”
Centro Cultural da UFMG
1999 Multigrade Mostra – 36 photographers”
      Ilford Film – Belo Horizonte
1998 “Woman in the photography field”
      Belo Horizonte City Hall
1991  “A Click in the History”
      A photo exhibition from the book “Campinas Photojournalism”
PUC – Campinas – SP