Welcome to the TROPICAL TRAUMA MISERY TOUR. I invite you to take this tour through a roofless theatre called media, the stage representing the farce and media opportunism of the Brazilian president and far-right populist, Jair Messias Bolsonaro—The Myth.
In 2018, Bolsonaro was stabbed during a presidential rally campaign. Against a backdrop of polarization, micro-narratives, and misinformation, The Myth starred in an online political campaign where he had complete control over his narrative and self-presentation. This tour investigates how the ambiguity of the stabbing event exposes the network propaganda in the Brazilian political game.
Through a speculative documentary photography practice, this piece overcomes the political illusions and dissemination of nonprogressive values of digital populists. The fictionalization of the real is a form of resistance toward such ideological shams and manipulations. It devolves into a meta-play, a farce within a farce.
TROPICAL TRAUMA MISERY TOUR photobook won (Kassel) Dummy Award '23 (GER), Prêmio Lovely '23 (BR), and the Special Mention Award at Hong Kong Photobook Festival '23. The book was also shortlisted at the Images Vevey Book Award '23, Beyra Festival '23, Encontros da Imagem '23 portfolio review and Fiebre Dummy Award '22.
(Director) RAFAEL RONCATO (Book designer) MATEUS ACIOLI (Proofreader) THIAGO PANINI (Printer and binder) MAS MATBAA, Istanbul (Publishers) The PhotoBookMuseum / MASA / Lovely House / Alter Edições
In October 2018, Jair Bolsonaro won Brazil’s presidential election - a former parachutist with moderate rhetorical talent who promised to “clean out Brazil's pigsty” and in his subsequent four years in office managed to leave 700,000 covid deaths, drive Amazon deforestation to historic proportions and plunge the Brazilian population back into hunger.
How could it happen that this mediocre, misanthropic proto-fascist become president and manoeuvre his country to the brink of democracy?
Rafael Roncato, a Brazilian-born visual artist and editor living in the Netherlands, has dedicated his book Tropical Trauma Misery Tour to this question. The starting point is the knife attack by a mentally disturbed man on Bolsonaro during his campaign tour, which served as a welcome - and ultimately election-deciding - media event for the candidate. Subsequently, Bolsonaro's team and supporters unleashed an unprecedented social media frenzy, pulling out all the stops of populist manipulation and plunging the country into a digital orgy of madness.
The artist has chosen a clever framework for his message: that of parodic theatre. In the first act, he leads his audience through a kaleidoscope of printed documents, scraps of images and striking texts, to stage a fictional spectacle with digital media in the second act, the game of "copy, paste, alter, share" that follows the virus of lies and disinformation into the minds and souls of people until they are ready to submit to their despot.
Roncato's project is an anti-fiction, a meta-fiction firmly rooted in reality - and an inspiring example of a contemporary strategy of artistic enlightenment driven by sense and sensuality.
Andreas Müller-Pohle
Hong Kong Photobook Dummy Award 2023
Intriguing and thought-provoking, the “Tropical Trauma Misery Tour” photobook of the Brazilian Rafael Roncato is a brilliant foray into the style of a detective novel unfolding against the media spectacle surrounding former Brazilian President Jair Messias Bolsonaro. The focus on the pivotal year of 2018, marked by Bolsonaro’s stabbing during a polarised presidential campaign, sees the former president assuming a central role in an online political campaign where he maintains complete control over his narrative and self-presentation.
The book stands as a testament to creativity, audacity and exceptional intelligence. I was thoroughly captivated by its enchanting and exotic style, adeptly exploring the intricate political narratives shaping our world. Through a captivating blend of creative elements and editorial tactics, this book emerges as a vital tool encouraging individuals to widely disseminate its message while condemning the dangers associated with misinformation. The blending of reality becomes a mode of resistance, unfolding as a meta-drama within the realm of political farce.
This magnificent piece serves as an ironic guide, decoding the intricacies of Brazilian politics and media manipulation. It not only visually captures the impact of events but also acts as a potent gauge of the blurred line between truth and political performance.
A must-see for those seeking a visual journey into the heart of contemporary Brazilian political discourse and for other countries that are contagiously impacted by this powerful farce.
Ângela Berlinde, artist, curator, researcher
