Elsa Leydier — LUT-O-A

LUTOA
2023, special edition by Elsa Leydier

Fine art print on Hemp Hahnemühle paper
A print-out page of decrees that authorises deforestation of the Atlantic Forest
Image size: 29,7 x 21 cm
Edition of 20
Signed / numbered in verso

€ 350,- unframed
€ 450,- framed (on request)

This is a special edition from the project LUTOA, and art- and a feministic street collage project practiced by a collective founded by Elsa Leydier in Brazil. Leydier presents imagery of the lush Atlantic forest, a precious but extremely threatened ecosystem: only 8% of the surface that covered Brazil at the time of the Portuguese invasion remains. The title of the project transforms the Portuguese word for mourning “luto” into “luta,” meaning “fight.” With LUTOA Leydier hopes to address the struggle against capitalist projects that destroy ecosystems.

The construction of the new industrial port Porto Sul is currently underway, further destroying acres of the Atlantic Forest and seabed (on the migration path of whales). Thousands of local jobs and livelihoods are being threatened. With LUTOA, Leydier speaks of the raise against such injustice and points to the connection of climate change to the economy. With this work, framed by ecofeminism, Leydier opens a conversation on how environmental issues do not exist in a vacuum, but cross paths with other forms of injustice. 

In  this  project, the photographs of the threatened Atlantic forest are juxtaposed with pages of decrees that authorise this deforestation. Together with the special edition print, a printout page of such decree is also included.