Marcio Pimenta

It happens to everyone. One way or another we get involved little by little and in such a natural way that we only realize that we are in a strange situation when we are halfway through and that is when we wonder how it all happened. How did it all start?

It was a Thursday in January 2018, I was working on my newest photographic project. A long-term project that will take years to complete and to which I will dedicate myself almost exclusively. I had just returned from Chile, where I went to document the advance of the desert towards the country's capital, Santiago. I was selecting the photos that will compose the book and studying the theme of desertification on the planet - one of the consequences of climate change. The phone rang. It was from Marca Chile and the invitation was simple: “Do you want to be part of a scientific expedition in Antarctica?”. I was speechless for a few seconds and even before I answered the interlocutor followed, "you have to be here on Tuesday". I said yes and we hung up. I called my girlfriend and informed her of the invitation - and the absence for the next few days. And as she always does every time, she was generous and supported my work unconditionally. "Wonderful! When I get home I help you organize everything! ”, He replied. That same night we went to the birthday of a Portuguese friend and I said to him, "I'm going to Antarctica". He looked at me very seriously and said, "it's like going to the moon!" I just smiled with that grace.