VI
EN
Lisbon, or Lisboa, the largest city in Portugal and the only European capital situated along the Atlantic coast, is considered the economic, political, cultural, and artistic hub of the continent.
Lisbon is known by the beautiful name "City of Perfection" for many reasons: it boasts the best Mediterranean climate in Europe with vast green spaces, it is the second oldest city after Athens – home to historical sculptures and architecture, it is a safe city and borders some of the world's most beautiful beaches.
Lisbon, a magnificent city on the Atlantic coast.
There are countless reasons why Lisbon is a perfect destination for travel enthusiasts. But Gonçalo Fonseca – a young Portuguese documentary photographer – has created a series of photographs that not only show viewers a different Lisbon, but the opposite – a series titled “New Lisbon”.
"New Lisbon" explores the anxieties of people who lack a safe haven within the "complete city" of Lisbon, due to the ever-increasing real estate values and the resulting skyrocketing rental prices. Amidst a safe and clean Lisbon, thousands of families are forced to seek refuge in abandoned houses, cramped and confined spaces. Each day, instead of seeing the ancient town with its magnificent architecture, the sky for these "New Lisbon-ers" is far more dull and monotonous.
"New Lisbon" through the artistic world of Gonçalo Fonseca:
Gonçalo Fonseca's photo series are small slices of the fragmented world of Lisbon, "documentary footage" recording the transformation and adaptation of a segment of the "new population" in the face of a worsening housing crisis in one of Europe's most dreamy and proud capitals.
"New Lisbon" helped Gonçalo Fonseca win the "Emerging Photographer" category in the 40th Leica Oskar Barnack Award (LOBA) documentary and photojournalism competition, with the theme of the interaction between humans and their surrounding environment.
