TITLE: The flour battle

Santa Cruz das Ribeiras is located in Pico Island, in the Azores. Every year, during Shrove Monday afternoon, a group of inhabitants, mainly young people, get together to fight a peculiar battle: they throw flour to each other while they go through the main streets of the village. Almost every one protects their eyes with glasses, because the flour is thrown with considerable force.

AUTHOR: Paulo Monteiro (Portugal)

Paulo Monteiro was born June 1963, in S. Miguel, Azores, where he currently lives and works.
He has been a photographer since 1985.
He has developed long term projects about various subjects, such as popular religiosity, profane festivities, architecture, landscape, Nature, or the world of work.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
- Galeria Arco 8, Ponta Delgada, 1989;
- Associação Portuguesa de Arte Fotográfica, Lisboa, 1990;
- Livraria Solmar, Ponta Delgada, 1992;
- Galeria Arco 8, Ponta Delgada, 1994;
- V Bienal de Fotografia, Vila Franca de Xira, 1997;
- Semana Maior, itinerante na ilha de S. Miguel, Açores, 2003;
- Semana Maior, Museu de São Jorge, Açores, 2004;
- Espírito Santo nas ilhas Terceira, Pico e São Jorge, Museu de São Jorge, Açores, 2005;
- Açores Profundos, Teatro Micaelense, Ponta Delgada, 2007;
- Processies, Sint-Michielskerk, Gent, Bélgica, 2015.

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
- Pontilha, Ribeira Grande, 1989;
- I Bienal de Fotografia, Vila Franca de Xira, 1989;
- I Semana de Arte, Ponta Delgada, 1992;
- IV Bienal de Fotografia, Vila Franca de Xira, 1995;
- Novos Criadores, Ponta Delgada, 1998;
- 20e Internationaal Fotofestival Knokke-Heist, Bélgica, 1998;
- 5ème Biennale d`Arts Graphiques, Saint-Maur des Fossés, França, 1998;
- 21e Internationaal Fotofestival Knokke-Heist, Bélgica, 1999;
- A Window on the Azores, The Bermuda National Gallery, Hamilton, Bermuda, 1999;
- A Window on the Azores, New Bedford Waling Museum, New Bedford, USA, 2000;
- Marca Madeira 2000, Funchal, 2000;
- VII Bienal de Fotografia, Vila Franca de Xira, 2001;
- Galeria do Fórum Cultural de Alverca, 2001;
- Fotonoviembre, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canárias, Espanha, 2001;
- 7ème Prix International "Charlemagne", Thionville, França (itinerante na França, Bélgica e
Luxemburgo), 2002;
- Arte 13, itinerante na ilha de S. Miguel, Açores, 2003;
- Fotonoviembre, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canárias, Espanha, 2003;
- VIII Bienal de Fotografia, Vila Franca de Xira, 2003;
- Fotonoviembre, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canárias, Espanha, 2005;
- La Manera Atlántica/A Maneira Atlântica, itinerante nas Canárias, Madeira e Açores, 2008;
- II Bienal de Fotografia, Sintra, 2009;
- 32e Internationaal Fotofestival Knokke-Heist, Bélgica, 2010;
- Olhos Sobre o Mar, Navio Museu Santo André, Ílhavo, 2010;
- Black+White Photographer of the Year 2015, Leica Mayfair, London, UK;
- Black+White Photographer of the Year 2015, theprintspace, London, UK;
- Black&White International Award Rome, Spazio Tetenal, Roma, Italia, 2016;
- Concurso Mês da Fotografia, Auditório Municipal Augusto Cabrita, Barreiro, 2016.

BOOKS
- Açores Profundos/Profound Azores, Edições Caixotim, colecção Artes e Letras, Porto, 2007.

His work has been published in Black+White Photography, Réponses Photo, Dodho magazine, MonoVisions, Private, F-Stop Magazine, Don`t Take Pictures.

PRIZES
Prémio da IV Bienal de Fotografia, Vila Franca de Xira, Portugal, 1995, Bronze Award, Black & White Magazine single Image Contest 2010, International Photography Awards 2011, People: Culture Second Place, Black+White Photographer of the Year 2015, Documentary category winner, Tetenal European B/W Classics Award 2015 – 2nd place, Black&White International Award Rome, 2016, First prize Best Single Shot, Monochrome Awards 2016, First Place Winner in Photojournalism.