C H A N T E N I G H T Z
In the outskirts of São Paulo during the 1980s, I breathed the heavy air of an era in turmoil: the primal scream of graffiti on concrete walls, the rebellious calligraphy of pixação, the raw territoriality of gangs, the anarchic edge of punk, the synthetic chill and loud colors of new wave, the blood spilled in ink by marginal poetry, the low flight of skateboards over hostile asphalt. I wasn't just a witness; I was a human seismograph, recording the fissures and tremors of this social landscape. My role was often that of a critical observer—sharp, yet aware of my own limitations, a foreigner in my own territory.
My resistance manifested in the meticulous collection of fragments: collages that were maps of chaos, records that were discourses on vinyl, books and photography magazines that served as windows to parallel worlds. All consumed with the voracious appetite of someone seeking to decipher the codes of counterculture—this diffuse entity that was my true curriculum.
Over the past 30 years, with 15 dedicated to photography, I have been crafting a body of work that is more than a tribute; it is an archaeological excavation of the senses. I dive into the geological layers of the period spanning from the late '60s to the early '90s, not with nostalgia, but with a scalpel. My lens penetrates the raw flesh of this era, probing its scars, its excesses, its blood, and its cheap makeup. I deliberately embrace kitsch as a critical language—exaggeration as the distorted mirror of a time that was, itself, a violent distortion of reality.
When I think of photography, I don't think of capturing moments. I think of constructing frozen cinematographies. Each image I create aspires to the narrative density of a frame stolen from an invisible feature film. These are pictures that contain entire universes of contradiction, where the sublime and the mundane, the political and the poetic, the brutal and the delicate coexist in fertile tension. And it is in this hybrid space that the necessary nonsense flourishes—absurdity as the ultimate logic of a world that, when seen up close, has always been a puzzle with missing pieces. This is my archaeology of unease, my Chante Nightz world.
PHOTOGRAPHER AND CURATOR
.jpeg)
William Baglione is a visual artist, curator, photographer, and book editor with a significant presence in both the Brazilian and international cultural scenes since the 1990s. His multifaceted career spans projects in visual arts, exhibition curation, artistic direction, and editorial publications that engage with urban culture, authorial photography, and the appreciation of personal and collective legacies.
Career Milestones
* Founded the artist collective Famiglia (2005–2012), where he managed the careers of eight artists, promoting exhibitions, productions for collectors, and collaborations with brands.
* Curated exhibitions both in Brazil and abroad, notably at cultural centers and galleries in the United States, France, England, Italy, Russia, and the Brazilian Amazon.
* Served as a curator for international events, including collaborations with Brazilian embassies in Moscow and London. He also curated a special edition of the American magazine Juxtapoz dedicated to Brazilian art.
* Co-curator of the SOS Racisme exhibition at the renowned Palais de Tokyo in Paris.
* Curated and served as the artistic director for the Street River project (2017 and 2022), which combined urban art, sustainability, and social inclusion in the Amazon region.
* Is the chief curator of the largest urban art festival in the North of the country, MAUB (2023/2024/2025).
* Developed work as a photographer, with exhibitions in France, Italy, the USA, and Brazil. His focus is on conceptual essays that blend performance, B culture, and urban aesthetics.
* Is a co-founder of the publishing houses Afluente, Nascente, and Oca Books, which focus on publishing authorial projects, art books, biographies, and cultural records with a contemporary approach and on-demand technology.
With a provocative, sensitive, and constantly evolving perspective, William Baglione is recognized for his commitment to art as a tool of expression, memory, and transformation.
CONTATO
