Lvcas Fiat

Science can project numbers, adopt nomenclature, and identify statistical hot spots, but it often communicates within an academic echo chamber – leaving normal people out of the conversation. That’s where I believe imagination and the arts can make science and conservation important to everyone in all corners of society. Through Projeto Mantis, and partnering my work with conservationists, scientists, and activists, I ensure that more people can rediscover and sense the beauty and wonder in our fascinating, fragile ecosystems – especially rainforests. I strive to fill the collective imagination with curiosity and astonishment, reconnecting individuals with nature so they can see that mankind’s greatest endeavor should be protecting and restoring our natural wonders.

We can only expand the frontiers of our knowledge as far as our curiosity goes. In our expeditions, I bring colors, sounds, textures, shapes, behaviors, and feelings of this wilderness I live in to answer such authentic and sincere questions – I want people to become connected to their own land again.
Through a combination of multimedia – Photography, storytelling, art, science, and communication – we aim to generate change and a plausible future for all life on this vibrant planet. When we go out on expeditions in search of extraordinary beings, we are leaving behind a legacy of admiration and a spirit to protect the natural world.

As the threats to our world’s ecosystems increase, I feel the urge to evoke emotion, aesthetics, and imagination to help give voice and paint a picture for science, rainforests and wildlife. There is nothing more inspiring than nature, the invisible, the search for the unknown, and our vibrant biodiversity. I’m dedicated to building a future where design, art, and technology can expand the perception and understanding of our ecosystems and the fantastic beings that dwell there. By promoting Projeto Mantis’ ever-expanding work centered on biocultural diversity, improving and sharing my skills through expeditions in rainforests, and crafting impactful artwork, I hope to empower more rainforests and peoples to achieve a thriving nature.

As an artist, I develop artwork that inhabits imagination and familiar stories that remain untold. The visual, the aesthetic, the poetic, the dreams, were always important in our relationship to nature, be it for indigenous communities or early naturalists developing modern science and exploration. Since I joined Projeto Mantis, expanding our work to multiple audiences and communities, I’ve been able to rescue this fundamental role of art and subjectivity as an ally to science and conservation. I’ve become a naturalist designer unveiling the tropical rainforest nights, sharing them to larger audiences while inspiring partners, either artists or scientists, to immerse in their local, genuine nature with their minds and hearts alike.