area rugs
in a window of prestes maia 911 building
p winner of the leica oskar barnack award p in march 2006 the residents of 911 prestes maia a twenty two story ramshackle tower block in the center of sprawling sao paulo brazil learned that they were to be evicted . the building neglected by its landlord had been empty for over a decade . in 2003 the movement of the homeless had moved in hundreds of families . the new residents created homes and a thriving community from squalor and neglect complete with a library workshops and other educational activities . in this collection julio bittencourt records the towers residents as they appear in weathered window frames . it is powerful and thought provoking .