CORY REYNOLDS | DATE 6/11/2014

Marc Ohrem-Leclef: Olympic Favela

In the Introduction to his new book Olympic Favela, which documents the residents of Rio di Janiero's slums as they protest eviction by the Secretaria Municipal de Habitação in advance of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games, photographer Marc Ohrem-Leclef writes, "These images juxtapose the dynamics of celebration and togetherness with those of struggle based on social-economic disparity, which the mega-events are bringing to Rio de Janeiro and its citizens. The people I met face extraordinary challenges: city officials who use ever-changing tactics to sow fear and insecurity to actively erode the sense of community; and lengthy, complicated legal disputes they must wage to avoid eviction and assert their rights to remain in the homes where they have grown up. Their firsthand accounts of their uphill battle, of the perseverance and ingenuity they employed to build their homes, and of the history of their communities—many residents we spoke with are third-generation residents of their neighborhoods—revealed the full breadth of their fears and underlined the need for their voices to be heard."