A multimedia artist with roots in circus and dance, Alma Cigana, the artistic name of the 25-year-old photographer from Rio Grande do Sul, finds in photography his main tool for expression and cultural exchange. His trajectory, which began on stage, overflows into his images with a unique sensitivity for performance, movement, and visual narrative, leading him to travel throughout the national territory.
His portfolio “Presságio – Fauna and Flora Are Sacred“, a finalist in the Portfolio category of the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025, is a highly impactful project of scenographic and performative photography. In it, Alma Cigana creates entities and enchanted beings adapted to the current climate crisis, such as a turtle in a nest of plastic or a vulture over burned territories. More than a warning, the work is an omen – an urgent call for reflection on our daily actions and a plea for change, merging the richness of Afro-Brazilian and indigenous folklore with powerful environmental critique.
Learn more about the creative mind behind these visual performances and his future plans in the following interview.
How old are you? Where do you currently live and work?
25 years old, originally from Rio Grande do Sul, residing in Itu – SP. I currently work in cinematography, art direction, and film, traveling throughout the Brazilian territory.
Tell us about your journey in photography. When did you start photographing and why? What role does photography play in your life?
I discovered photography through dance and circus. Grandson of a clown, art has been part of my life since childhood. As a dancer, contortionist, clown, and actor, it was at 15 that I began to venture into photography, covering theater performances and cultural movements in Porto Alegre – RS. I realized how the camera helped me express my emotions through portraits and the possibilities it offered for me to get to know the world, making the dream of engaging in cultural exchanges a reality.
Over the years, photography has played the role of pushing me out of my comfort zone, connecting me with the purest sensitivity, and showing me paths for development and personal maturation.
Tell us about your finalist work for the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025. When and where was it created? What is its concept? How does it fit into your photographic practice?
The finalist project for the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025 is a photographic project titled “Presságio – Fauna and Flora Are Sacred”. A sequence of visual performances where I present entities and enchanted beings adapted to the current environmental and climate crisis scenario: The Turtle in its nest of plastics, the Vulture above waste in burned territories, the Jupira in front of a waterfall, Kaykoli, who is the manifestation of Nature’s Fury, indigenous and quilombola peoples adapted to the symbiosis between the organic and the recycled. Presságio is an omen, a sign, a premonition, a call… It proposes reflection on our daily actions and a plea for change.
What projects are you currently working on? What are your near-future plans for photographic production?
I am currently producing my photographic and creative scenography experience “Symbiosis,” the cinematography workshop “Sensitivity as a Creative Tool,” and directing documentary and cinematographic projects.
My plans remain aligned with the proposal of the finalist project: to acquire more resources to expand the research of the characters, introduce new entities and enchanted beings – building a storytelling book of Afro and indigenous Brazilian folklore through creative photography, sustainable scenography, and visual arts.
