Carlos Cazalis

URBAN SHADOWS

May 2011

CONTACT Feature show

Urban Shadows examines the damaging effects that people have on urban centres, specifically in Osaka, Japan; Tehran, Iran; Mexico City, Mexico; São Paulo, Brazil; and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Carlos Cazalis documents these overpopulated megacities that have become epicentres of cultural and economic power, yet are also major consumers of the planet’s resources. These images take the viewer on a journey from the vastness of the cityscape through to the detailed interiors of a squatter’s shack. The artist’s lens exposes the man-made systems that mediate our lived experience of urban environments.

The planet now harbours over 35 megacities–several with a population of over 20 million–and for the first time in history, more people are living in urban rather than rural areas. As millions migrate to these vast concrete jungles, populations distance themselves from the reality that humankind is an integral part of the natural world. The consequences of overpopulation and the housing shortage within these megacities reflect a growing disparity between economically underprivileged classes and the wealthy. By exposing how humankind’s needs have reshaped the world, we become aware of our surroundings and how they impact the individual.

www.cazalis.org