The Free Eyes, Chicago - USA, 2019 Print

A photograph is not just made with lenses. Your heart must be in this process. You need to have sincere emotions, honest feelings, empathy, and a purpose. That's how I work. Photography is my attempt to understand the world where I temporarily live in. Photography is also my attempt to understand myself. Photography is the most efficient means of communication I have found to tell what is happening in my heart. A lot of things happen here, and sometimes it's very difficult to say just in words. Photography very well translates the ups and downs of my life. Photography helps me to be more sincere, not only in relation to the other person but, above all, in relation to myself. Photography empties my mind and fills my heart with peace. It is a fascinating exercise where I learn to value each moment, each place, and each object. Everything looks beautiful and fascinating to me, no matter how many times I see them. Photography is my meditation. My work arises from my desire to tell stories through images. Most importantly, it arises from the genuine desire to be seen by Hélie that, one day, will understand the woman who was his mother. Finally, my photographic work is a tribute to the city of Chicago, where I used to live for almost 5 years. It was there that my first photos were born, it was there that I discovered a passion, and it was there that photography became my great companion. Chicago still inspires me and motivates me. If I photograph, I owe it to this city. Walking along North Michigan, Lincoln, Belmont, Clark, Wilson, Sunnyside, Damen, Winchester, Clarendon, West Chicago, Halsted, Broadway, Randolph, Wabash, LaSalle, Dearborn, Addison, Montrose, Southport, Roscoe, Wells, Van Buren, I found that colors and light are more beautiful in Chicago than anywhere else in the world. My name is Cinthia Coelho-Fize, I'm a French-Brazilian journalist and photographer, currently living in Chamalieres, France. Now it's time to discover new faces, streets, and landscapes far from Chicago, where it all began. But something is already possible to say: discovering a new city in another country becomes even more fun and interesting when I do it through the viewfinder of my photographic camera :)