Lola Silva: The Street as a Stage for Self-Affirmation and Resistance

A 33-year-old independent photojournalist based in São Paulo, Lola Silva builds a trajectory that transforms the lens into an instrument of visibility and denunciation. With experience at Coletivo NADA – where she explored photography as a tool for political and cultural reflection – and at Teia dos Povos São Paulo – where she documented the resistance of Indigenous communities – she develops a gaze that privileges marginalized stories, believing in the power of the image to preserve memories and amplify silenced voices.

Her image “Pose!” a finalist in the Single Image category of the FotoDoc Photo Contest 2025, is a vibrant record of the 1st Trans Masculine March held on Avenida Paulista in March 2024. More than documenting a protest, the photograph captures the potency, celebration, and self-affirmation of trans masculine bodies occupying public space with art and pride. The work reflects her commitment to translating stories of resistance through a gaze that fuses aesthetics and political narrative, questioning norms and building memories that challenge invisibility. Just like her records with original peoples, Lola seeks to create images that are simultaneously intimate and politicized, where the street transforms into a stage for identity reinvention.

Learn more about this trajectory and the projects that explore motherhood as a rebellious act in the following interview.

Imagem do Ensaio Marco Temporal: O Traço Invisível do Tempo, de Lola Silva, selecionado no Prêmio Portfólio FotoDoc 2025

How old are you? Where do you currently live and work?

I am 33 years old, I live in São Paulo, the capital, and I am an independent photojournalist.

Tell us about your journey in photography. When did you start photographing and why? What role does photography play in your life?

I began my trajectory at Coletivo NADA, a collaborative space that uses art for reflection on social, cultural, and political issues. There, I explored photography as a tool for transformation and denunciation.

I also worked at Teia dos Povos São Paulo, where I lived with Indigenous communities and documented their stories, struggles, and resistance. I believe that photography is a means to preserve memories and amplify voices, especially those of original peoples, who continue to face great challenges in maintaining their cultures and territories.

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?

I recorded this essay during the 1st Trans Masculine March, on Avenida Paulista, in the central region of São Paulo, on March 3, 2024.

The proposal was to document the potency, resistance, and celebration of trans masculine bodies in a space of struggle and self-affirmation. The images capture not only the political manifestation but also the unique cultural expression that emerges when the community occupies the streets with art and pride.

This work directly dialogues with my commitment to using photography as a tool for visibility and denunciation, especially for marginalized groups. Just as in the records of Indigenous communities, I seek to translate stories of resistance through an intimate and political gaze, where aesthetics and narrative merge to question norms and build memories.

What projects are you currently working on? What are your near-future plans for photographic production?

Currently, I am dedicated to the project “Mães Libertárias” (Libertarian Mothers), a documentary essay that explores motherhood within the punk scene. The work captures the contradiction and potency of women who raise their children under an anti-conformist ethic, challenging traditional notions of family. Through intimate portraits and scenes of daily life, I seek to show how motherhood can be a political act – as rebellious as a basement show.

I have also been accompanying and documenting the Dofurém Guainá People in their cultural and territorial retaking in the East Zone of São Paulo.
For the future, I intend to expand the geographical scope of the project, recording mothers from different urban subcultures in various regions of the country, along with an exhibition.