Presentation
ROOF (2013-2023) ROOF portrays the lives that reflect the hidden side of the housing crisis in Europe’s number one destination: Lisbon.
At a time when the country is celebrating the 50th anniversary of April’s Revolution which brought democracy and supposedly the right to housing, Portugal has become an example of a trapped in tourism and low-wage economy to the point where people who receive the minimum wage and often more have to survive in precarious conditions in abandoned sites without safe electrical installations, water and basic sanitation.
In Lisbon, during the 2011-2014 economic crisis there were about 2800 “partially unoccupied” and over 1800 “completely abandoned” buildings, according to a Lisbon Town Hall study. With many losing their jobs and houses by that time, some ended up hiding the consequences of the crisis by finding a house in abandoned buildings..
Between 2014 and 2019 Portugal became the good example of Europe in terms of economic recovery. Tourism was crucial to solve the Portuguese crisis but at the same time that jobs were created the housing market skyrocketed to an unbearable level for the Portuguese lower and middle class.
Today, the housing problem reaches an extreme point as Lisbon became the most expensive city in Europe to rent a house according to the international Housing Anywhere index, which analyzed 64,000 properties in 23 European cities and at the same time the city was also considered the “Best City Destination in Europe”, at the 2023 World Travel Awards.
In the heart of the city, in the periphery, inhuman conditions, fragile lives and lonely battles are hidden day after day. These people survive with what others have rejected in the past, whether in abandoned buildings, closed factories, vacant schools or containers.
The work follows this reality over the last decade in the years 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 and 2023.
Biography
Mário Cruz is a Portuguese photographer, editor and curator focused on social injustice and human rights issues. He's a two-time World Press Photo winner and the founder of NARRATIVA, a photography center in Lisbon.
Main awards: Recent Blindness Estaçao Imagem 2014 Award ROOF Magnum 30 Under 30 Award Talibes, Modern Day Slaves – World Press Photo 2016 – Contemporary Issues – POYi 2016 – Issue Reporting Picture Story; – Estação Imagem 2016 Award Living Among What’s Left Behind – World Press Photo 2019 – Environment – Estação Imagem 2019 Award - 2020 Portuguese Society of Authors Prize for Best Work in Photography His work has been published in Newsweek, The New York Times, International New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, El Pais, CTXT and Neue Zürcher Zeitung.
He's the author of three books: Talibes Modern Day Slaves, 2016, FotoEvidence Living Among What's Left Behind, 2019, Nomas & FotoEvidence ROOF, 2024, NARRATIVA & FotoEvidence
Solo exhibitions: Talibes Modern Day Slaves, 2016, Manifesto - Porto, Portugal Living Among What’s Left Behind, 2019 Palacio Anjos, Portugal Living Among What’s Left Behind, 2019 Mattatoio - Rome Museum of Contemporary Art, Italy Living Among What’s Left Behind, 2019 Brussels National Theatre, Belgium Living Among What’s Left Behind, 2020 Galeria IAM, Macau Living Among What’s Left Behind, 2022 Lamas Museum, Portugal Living Among What’s Left Behind, 2023 EDP Almada, Portugal ROOF, Lisbon, Portugal.
