Sete quedas [Seven Falls] – Shirlene Linny, Julio Cardoso

On the morning of March 24, 1979, former ambassador José Jobim was found dead in Barra da Tijuca, West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, hanging from a tree by a nylon thread. Days before, Jobim had participated in an event in Brasilia in which he would have revealed that he intended to write about cases of corruption in the construction of the Itaipu plant. In the photobook, the construction projects of the Sete Quedas plant, during the João Goulart government, and Itaipu, during the dictatorship, serve as a backdrop for the exposition of the facts that culminated in the diplomat’s tragic death.

Black and white photographs of the larger-than-life structure of the hydroelectric plant serve as visual metaphors for the intimidating apparatus of the State. Mobilizing newspaper articles and archival documents, besides their own their photographs, the authors trace the story of the brutal kidnaping and murder of the former ambassador and the shady investigation of the case, emblematic of an obscure period in Brazilian history.

Seven Falls is a disturbing document of the power of construction (and destruction) of memory by the equipping of the Public Power and the media.