Thomas Brasey

In 1819, driven by starvation and economic crisis, about 2,000 Swiss people emigrated to Brazil. After a deadly journey, they founded Nova Friburgo in the mountains near Rio de Janeiro. Unfortunately, their lands barely provided enough to feed, and the settlers scattered. Some returned to Rio where they lived in poverty and crime, others headed North where coffee could be grown, and made prosperous business there, particularly thanks to slavery. In this survey, Thomas Brasey documents the nowadays town of Nova Friburgo and evokes in a strongly personal way the adventure of the Swiss settlers. Beyond the historical scope of his approach, he raises the tragically topical issue of emigration, and remembers us that not so long ago western Europeans left their continent by boat in search of a better place to live. After his PhD thesis in chemistry, Thomas Brasey got tired of tinkering with matter and switched to photography. His documentary works took him to Africa, central Asia, Europe, and Brazil. In 1996, the Office for Culture of the Canton of Fribourg initiated the »Photographic Investigation: Theme Fribourg« (»Enquête photographique fribourgeoise«). On the basis of a competition, the Office assigns a photographer to document a Fribourg theme. In 2016 this photographic investigation was entrusted to Thomas Brasey.