ESTIAGEM — JOÃO MARIANO

As part of the F/262 – International Photography Festival, ESTIAGEM (Drought) by Portuguese photographer João Mariano explores one of the defining environmental challenges of our time: water scarcity and the growing impact of climate change.

Developed between 2022 and 2024, the project documents the dramatic decline of the Bravura Reservoir in southern Portugal. As the water receded, landscapes, agricultural structures and traces of past human activity emerged from beneath the surface, revealing a territory transformed by prolonged drought. More than a documentary record, ESTIAGEM is a powerful visual narrative where the beauty of the landscape coexists with the unsettling reality of environmental change.

For more than two decades, João Mariano has built a body of work deeply connected to water, the sea and the communities shaped by it. Projects such as Warriors of the Sea, Harvesters of the Alvor Lagoon, Coast of the Sea and Between the Waters have established his distinctive photographic language, combining documentary practice, artistic vision and an enduring commitment to place.

Presented within the inaugural edition of F/262, ESTIAGEM resonates directly with the festival’s curatorial theme, Water, exploring its environmental, cultural and social significance. The exhibition invites audiences to reflect on climate change, the sustainable management of natural resources and our collective responsibility towards one of the planet’s most precious elements.

Comprising 20 large-format Fine Art photographs, the exhibition transforms the gallery into a space for contemplation and dialogue, where photography becomes simultaneously a work of art, a historical document and a call for environmental awareness.