About Chantal James

Chantal James (b. 1977, Toronto, Canada) is a photographer and researcher based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Her work delves into shared human experiences and the visual language of emotion, striving to capture the essence of subjects through an improvisational approach akin to musical syncopation. She seeks forms of expression that border on the supernatural, revealing “holy moments” of alignment.

Chantal is drawn to polychronic cultures, where time is fluid and the boundaries between public and private life blur. In these places, social life unfolds like a sacred dance of gestures, each movement narrating a story. Sympathetic and adaptable to her subjects, she reveals the exquisite within the mundane, focusing on inward experiences that reveal profound truths.

For over 30 years, photography has profoundly shaped her worldview. A graduate of Parsons School of Design, she began photographing street life of Brooklyn and Harlem in the mid-1990s. In search of the “warm culture of the south,” she traveled extensively throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, eventually making Rio de Janeiro her home in 2005.

In 2000, while living in Havana, Cuba, she founded La Rampa Magazine, a large-format publication dedicated to photography, design, and non-traditional storytelling. The magazine has featured issues produced in Haiti, Cuba, Brazil, and most recently, Portugal.

Chantal has showcased her work at prestigious international festivals, including Miami Art Basel, The Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival.

She has contributed to VOGUE, VICE and the Christian Science Monitor, amongst other pulblications.