It was the day and she was off. Resident of and photojournalist of Sheetshe was eating chicken parmigiana when she saw the first images of the invasion of the headquarters of the Three Powers on television. Minutes later, she was already equipped with her cameras, heading to the Esplanada dos Ministérios. What he saw there informs his new book, “Final Judgment”.
Launched this month, the work brings together photographs of Biló taken from that moment until September 2025, tied together by a text that reconstructs the coup plot from the depredation of Brasília to those that resulted in the ex-president’s conviction.
Except for a sentence at the end of the book in which he directly addresses the readers, Biló avoided printing his perspective as a witness in the text of the work. “Readers are literally looking into my eye. Through the photos, I show how I see the world. So, I needed to leave a little space for people to think and reflect,” he says.
Although she avoids opinions so as not to undermine the narrative weight of the book, the photojournalist does not aim for neutrality. “I don’t believe in neutral journalism. Journalism has one side, which is social interest and democracy, and that’s where this work positions itself.”
Biló once again shares the authorship of the book with Pedro Daltro and Cristiano Botafogo, creators of the podcast Medo e Delírio em Brasília, as well as graphic artist Pedro Inoue.
The group resumes the partnership after “A Verdade vos Libertará”, a book that won in the art category. This time, the preface was written by , columnist for Sheetinvited Biló.
Unlike “The Truth Will Set You Free”, the new book moves away from the photobook format of the previous one. “Final Judgment” has a compact form, with fluid reading, designed to circulate as a “mini-Bible”, in the author’s words.
The inspiration for the project refers to , by Christopher Nolan. Just like the film, the book uses black and white images to evoke the past and has as its narrative thread a testimony, the plea bargain of the lieutenant colonel, Bolsonaro’s former aide-de-camp.
The text unfolds like a great report and is supported by a graphic project that brings the work closer to an art object. The beauty of visual expression, according to Biló, is essential for reading the book.
“We are dealing with a very dense plot, so why not make this immersion at least aesthetically pleasing?”
According to Biló, journalism and aesthetics always go together. An image can be just news or just plastic, he says, but it is at the intersection between the two things that a “great photo” is produced.
“The most informative photos are not always beautiful, and the beautiful ones are not always informative, but all of them can tell a story full of nuances.”
