Landscapes of Fire in Cape Verde

Today we are pleased to present the first part of the fantastic images taken in Fogo Island Natural Park in Cape Verde by Portuguese photographers Fernando and Sergio Guerra. Bright, vibrant colours, especially red tones, against the dark tones that prevail in Fogo Island desertic landscape.

Fogo Island Natural Park. Cape Verde. Photography © FG + SG Photography

In Fogo Island, about 1800 meters above sea level, in the crater of the volcano, there is a village with about 1200 people living on the fringes of legality. They occupy state lands and organize mainly agricultural activities that ensure their survival in one of the poorest areas of Cape Verde.

The status of protected area of national interest forced the zoning of farming, with limitation to construction, and introduced rules against the free occupation of the town, generating collisions of interests with frequent clashes.

The natural landscape, deeply marked by the volcano and its crater, is a unique and rare beauty, with the potential to become a world heritage site.

Very soon we will offer you another article exclusively about the building for Ihla de Fogo Natural Park Headquarters, a great project completed by Portuguese architecture office OTO Arquitectos. Its long, elegant dark walls merge into the natural landscape and let us assume the actual proportions of Ilha de Fogo's impressive territory.

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Fogo Island Natural Park. Cape Verde. Photography © FG + SG PhotographyIlha do Fogo. Cabo Verde. Fotografía © FG + SG Photography.

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Fernando Guerra

Fernando Guerra was born in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1970 and obtained a degree in Architecture from Lusíada University (Lisbon), before working as an architect in Macau for five years. Fernando had been taking photographs since he was 16 years old and, in 1999, with his brother Sérgio Guerra, founded the studio ‘FG+SG - Fotografia de Arquitectura’. Five years later, they established the publishing house ‘FG+SG - Livros de Imagem’ to publicise the various architectural works they photograph.

Their work has regularly featured in a variety of national and international publications including Casabella, Wallpaper*, Dwell, Icon, Domus, and A+U, among many others. FG+SG collaborates with various important Portuguese architects such as Álvaro Siza, Carlos Castanheira, Risco Arquitectos, Manuel Graça Dias + Egas José Vieira, ARX Portugal, Promontório Arquitectos, Belém Lima, in addition to international architects such as Jordi Badia, Zaha Hadid, I.M. Pei, and many others.

Fernando Guerra has been represented by FAB PICS International Architecture Photography, Cologne, Germany since 2006, and by VIEW Pictures, London, since 2008. His work is represented in various private and public collections and has been exhibited extensively in Europe, as well as being shown in South America and Asia.

Just last year, he was announced as the winner of the Exterior category at the Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Awards for his photograph of the House for Elderly People in Portugal, by architect Francisco Aires Mateus. His latest award is only the most recent on a growing list, and the awards are well-deserved. Guerra has an eye for these pristine white buildings and captures their expertly-crafted planes with such acuity, you're compelled to see if the building has any flaws (specifically his images of the Aires Mateus' House in Leiria).