Ser Manguezal is a photographic exploration of life within Brazil’s mangrove forests, inspired in part by Josué de Castro’s Of Men and Crabs (1967). Castro’s critique of hunger and inequality framed my research, guiding me toward a deeper understanding of the communities whose lives are entangled with these tidal landscapes.

Photographed over two years in Belmonte, Bahia, the project focuses on crab hunters — men whose labor is inseparable from the rhythms of the mangrove. Their days unfold in silence among gigantic roots, their bodies camouflaged in mud and tide. Observing them, I saw how human and ecosystem dissolve into one another: hands echoing roots, footprints vanishing with each high tide.

Mangroves are critical for biodiversity, carbon storage, and coastal protection, yet more than half face collapse from deforestation, pollution, and climate change. In Belmonte, crab hunting is one of the few remaining livelihoods; its survival depends on the forest’s survival.

Working in black and white, I photographed without staging, letting gestures and textures emerge naturally. The result is a document of both resilience and fragility — a testament to lives shaped by tidal ecologies and the urgent need to protect them.