High-Rise

In Brazil, a country riddled with poverty, a select few soar above it all. Using the modern high rise as a metaphor for income inequality, Mascaro talks to an assortment of the wealthiest: penthouse owners who tower, both literally and metaphorically, over everyone else. From their castles in the sky, these elites offer candid, sometimes jaw-dropping thoughts on status, social inequity, and their own situations. Visually, Mascaro achieves a dizzying study of verticality, capturing the buildings’ vertiginous architecture and their impact on the urban landscape. The result is a provocative, poetic reflection on power, privilege, and life at the top.