Maria Thereza Alves, born in 1961 in Brazil, is an artist whose work questions the social  circumstances we take for granted and looks at how we identify ourselves, and the things around us. In the 1980s, Alves co-founded the Green Party of Brazil. She has worked in the Pantanal swamps of Brazil, the mountain village of Matsunoyama in Japan, the industrialized mega-port of Guangzhou in China, the village of Amatlan in central Mexico, the agricultural village of Fadiouth in Senegal and throughout Europe. She has exhibited in the 3rd Guangzhou Triennal, Manifesta 7, the 2nd Athens Biennal, the 10th Lyon Biennal and documenta 13.