Adriana Loureiro Fernández, Paradise Lost
The Venezuelan photographer (born 1988) describes the desolate situation in the South American country as a sort of personal diary. She has been documenting her homeland’s collapse for around ten years. Poverty, inflation, violence, but also the hope of a young generation who have not – compared to many others – abandoned the country. “Somewhere between the beauty and the horror is Paradise Lost,” as the photographer says.
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19 Images
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Road to Punta de Mata, illuminated by massive gas flares, making it the brightest spot in the country, Venezuela 2022
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Under a sky lit by gas flares, Jalismar Villaruel plays animal lottery with her neighbours and two children, Punta de Mata 2022
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Young mothers with their babies. Venezuela has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in the world, Caracas 2019
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Saida Bravo (45), who suffers from acute malnutrition, enjoys the sunlight, Maracaibo 2019
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Yrelys Jiménez (38) and her son (2). As a full-time teacher she earns around six dollars per month, San Diego de los Altos 2023
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After school, Clarelys López-Jiménez (4) rests on the bed she shares with the family of four, San Diego de los Altos 2023
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After school, children walk among the remains of 17 houses that caught fire during a blackout in Petare, Caracas 2019
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Magaly Lozano reunites with her cousin Florinda Baez for the first time since both were displaced in 2018, Yauruna 2021
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The sun sets over a busy street market, Caracas 2023
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A girl stands among the tombstones as her uncle is buried in a mass grave, Valencia 2018
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Heavily armed police forces do a stop-and-frisk in the José Félix Ribas neighbourhood, Petare 2021
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Yrelys Jiménez holds her son and her daughter on the bed that the family shares, San Diego de los Altos 2023
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Men scavenge for food in a large waste container during a busy afternoon in Petare, a working-class neighbourhood, Caracas 2023
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With the Cardón refinery burning in the background, fishermen repair their nets before sailing, Punto Fijo 2020
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Diego, Manuel, and Miguel Méndez fish next to dead fish in Lake Maracaibo, to help their mother feed the family, Cabimas 2019
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Luis Javier (9) and Luis David (8) play on the shores of Lake Maracaibo, stained with algae blooms and crude oil, Cabimas 2019
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Yon Medina dives from an abandoned oil structure into algae bloom-covered Lake Maracaibo, Cabimas 2019
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Attaiz Bellorín (33) digs the sand in search of gold while children play around her, Guaca 2020
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Kely Vicuña (18) and Darwin Contreras (19) fled from Venezuela to Peru after being political prisoners, Tacna, Peru 2017
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