The faces are routinely blurred whereas the backdrop remains in focus, creating a seductive unreality that leaves an evocative impression without actually describing the specifics of the place. It is this precise "information deficit", Ferreira says, which is what "catches the eye of the observer and makes the portrayee stand out, also adding enigma."

By creating a symbolic tension between the subject and the setting, Ferreira has managed to poetically conjure up the feelings of solitude and alienation that are by-products of modern city living. Commenting on such places, he says, "in all of them, territory and behaviour are changing fast. Cities seem to mirror our state of mind and reveal secrets that can be decoded when minute details are looked at: it is between the lines that I seek ambiguities and contradictions."

Ferreira´s gaze is swift and furtive, presenting the viewer with glimpses of people´s untold stories. One image foregrounds a smirking youngster who exposes his tattooed arm to us while soaring sky scrapers loom large in the distance; in another, a face is simultaneously assailed and attacked by the street lights, this time spindly branches of trees sprout up behind. Elsewhere, as lovers embrace on a park bench their liquid outline almost melts into the brightly-lit futuristic building, the image becomes imbued with an emotional atmosphere that is typical of the entire series.

As such, "Daily Pilgrims" provides a fresh perspective on the tradition of street photography and offers a vision of the East that is so strange yet so familiar.

Tim Clark, 1000 Words

This print has been kindly donated by Virgílio and the net proceeds of the sale of the print will go in support of 1000 Words.