Marcos Florentino and Kelvin Yule have been working together since the day they met, in 2016. At the end of the same year, they decided to unite their visions to shoot the first story signed by the duo: Isis Maria. When it was published, it took them straight to the offices of CondéNast and ELLE, the two biggest publications in Brazil.
Marcos was born in the state of Piauí, in a small village in the northeast part of Brazil. He started drawing at a very young age and tried other medias as he grew up, while watching his mother sew his sisters’ dresses for traditional Brazilian celebrations and graduations, which may have been his first contact with fashion. At 18 he moved to São Paulo to study Graphic Design on a scholarship. There he began to use the photography as a form of expression, as well as experimenting with sculpture, ceramics, textiles, drawing and oil painting, all of which they incorporate into their work as a duo.
Kelvin is from the coast of Bahia, also in the northeast region of Brazil. He developed an inquisitive personality mainly during his childhood as a queer kid living in the countryside. At the age of 17, he went to university to study Social Communication and Journalism, which led him to develop his interest in storytelling and photography as a way to reimagine the world we live in from a decolonial perspective. In 2016, he moved to São Paulo to develop his work in the fashion industry.
Over the past seven years, the duo has contributed to a revolution in the way images are made in Brazil, adding artistic refinement to their photography to create stories that go beyond, while also having played an important role in the inclusion within the industry. Marcos and Kelvin often say that they are always looking for the “fantastic element” in the ordinary, creating powerful images with deep meaning and valuing their Brazilian roots. Together, they push their work into a political manifesto, believing in the transformative power of beauty through art.
They became the first photographers to shoot the September issue covers of both Vogue and Elle, and now the duo is gaining international attention after creating iconic images with the EGOT winner Viola Davis, and for directing the film RITO with American singer Erykah Badu.
