FRENTISTAS DO BRASIL
SÃO PAULO / BRASIL
There is a profession every Brazilian meets and almost nobody looks at.
Self-service pumps have been illegal in Brazil since 2000, so every tank in the country is filled by hand. The frentista, the attendant who does it, is part of every journey anyone makes here. Frentistas do Brasil is a cultural project led by Barro de Chão with support from Brazil’s Ministry of Culture. We created the visual identity and the book design for the first national research project on these workers.
The frentista crosses daily life in every Brazilian city and remains invisible. The project had to give visibility without turning people into objects of study.
The choice was an attentive gaze rather than distant documentation. Gestures, interactions, pauses and silences reveal the presence of these workers in the urban landscape. The visual identity and the book design start from that listening: they do not interpret the content, they make room for it.
The research crossed all five regions of the country. From it came a book, a documentary and a photographic exhibition. Three media for one narrative: the book preserves, the film holds time, the exhibition creates the encounter.
The first project in Brazil dedicated to the profession, Frentistas do Brasil gives visibility back to the people who keep cities moving. A reflection on presence, dignity, culture and collective memory.
