Ipanema has always been the epicentre of beach culture in Brazil. Most cultural movements gather momentum there, from Bossa Nova to left-wing politics. But it was also a privileged area, and public transportation was not implemented to the far corners of the suburbs, so the crowd was primarily mid to upper class.
Photographer Vava Ribeiro explains: "I spent most of my youth surfing at Ipanema Beach through the 80S and 90s. The scene was very different back then. At the time, which was pre-internet, it felt a bit more isolated, and quite niche. There were hippies, surfers, skaters, the jiu-jitsu crew and everything in between."
It took Vava Ribeiro over a decade to complete his series on the beach culture of Rio de Janeiro. "What always interested me was how people expressed themselves at the beach - a place where you essentially strip down to minimal coverage, yet still manage to maintain your personal fashion codes. That was something I wanted to explore, capturing the beauty of everyday life in this special place where I grew up."
