CUERPO SELVA

a Matsés photographic series by Tui Anandi
Melanie Dizon
November 22, 2021

CUERPO SELVA 2018-2019

Photograph: Tui Anandi

"Cuerpo Selva" is a photographic series that reveals the uniqueness between body and forest for the indigenous people, far from the western borders that split nature from humanity. The forest breathes through them, ingrained within the indigenous peoples. They are children of the earth, as part of the same organism.

The Matses live in the Javari Valley, in one of the most remote areas of the Amazon Forest, on the Peru-Brazil border. The history of these people is marked by the struggle for their existence, inseparable from the permanence in the territory and the survival of the forest. The photographs from this series were taken between 2018-2019.


Photograph: Tui Anandi

Photograph: Tui Anandi


CUERPO SELVA is on exhibition through March 5

*Prints from this exhibition will be available for sale. To view the full series, please email us at info@xapiriground.org for more information.

BIOGRAPHY | Tui Anandi

Tui Anandi (1992) is a Brazilian photographer from Paraty. He was a key part in the creation of Xapiri in 2015, and as the primary field photographer he has been on various expeditions to document the lifeways and artisanal processes of the Matsés, Shipibo, and Matsigenka communities. 

Tui’s photography is his life’s work, as a native Brazilian having lived and worked around indigenous communities since a child, his passion is linked to the plight of the indigenous identity in the modern world.