Adeloyá Magnoni is a photographer-activist who uses an anthropological lens to give voice and visibility to diverse sexualities, genders, Afro-religious traditions, social identities, and ethnicities. She is a practitioner of Candomblé—a daughter of Exu and Yansã—bisexual, antiracist, and an intersectional feminist. She believes in photography as a portal that is accessible to all, independent of language, and she uses it as a means of mobilizing empathy through art.
Her public exhibitions have centered on two important themes: honoring the lives of trans and travesti people, and documenting Candomblé rituals. Her images have been exhibited in Brazil, Uruguay, and, most recently, Italy.
Magnoni became a Candomblé initiate in 2017 and intensified her photographic work in the sacred space of the terreiro (candomblé religious house). The result is Travessia Okàn: Um Mergulho no Candomblé da Bahia (Okàn Crossing: Diving into the Candomblé of Bahia, August 2019), a book that explores Magnoni’s relationship with the religion through her art. In photographing and writing about the Orixás—Candomblé deities—Magnoni seeks to fulfill a mission: to transform outsiders’ attitudes toward Candomblé beyond the racist and exotifying gaze.
Follow on Instagram: @adeloyamagnoni
Buy the book: www.oyaeditora.com.br
