These Beautiful Works of Art Prove How Information Gets Distorted

VEJA, Brazil’s largest news agency, has launched an innovative integrated campaign to talk about the importance of the source in journalistic information. The campaign was created by AlmapBBDO and is the first of its kind to involve various art styles in order to prove a theory. The art project was pieced together in a short film called “Distorted Fact”, which highlights the entire creative idea.

The campaign, as dreamt up by AlmapBBDO, was to show how information gets distorted as it traverses mediators, the same way that art metamorphoses each time it is being reproduced.

To prove this theory, a project was set up in a big warehouse in São Paulo. It involved 6 different types of artists and it was based on the photo taken by journalist Kevin Carter, in Sudan, Africa, in 1993, which awarded him the Pulitzer Prize. The photo depicts a child in a severe state of malnutrition that is being watched by a vulture.

The original photograph was first used as a reference by painter Rien for his canvas. The photo was then covered and the next artist, illustrator Eduardo Nunes, was invited to create a piece inspired by Rien’s painting. 

His illustration served as an inspiration for sculptor Cícero D’Ávila, followed by graffiti artist Giuliano Alemão, woodcut artist Samuel Ornellas and finally photographer Guto Nóbrega, completing the circle and returning to the original technique.

Bruno Prosperi, ECD at AlmapBBDO, said: “One by one, each artist’s interpretation of what they saw had gradually fled from the concept of the original image. Nóbrega’s final photograph, for example, represents pure cheerfulness and lightness, which is completely opposite to the human drama displayed in Carter’s original image.”

“Each artist’s point of view is clearly reflected in their work and this is what makes this project so remarkable. The different artistic interpretation bring immense value to the concept of facts distortion and therefore perfectly illustrate our theory. It was fascinating to be a part of this experiment.”

The campaign film is being aired on all of VEJA’s Internet channels and in cinemas across Brazil.