Gustavo Mittelmann aims to reveal unseen truths in his visually layered photographs. Based in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Mittelmann captures portraits in which people convey information about their lives and cultures via their environments.

Mittelmann chooses his subjects based on a fraction of time in which they distinguish themselves from the people around them. He photographs people in their environs, the detritus of their daily lives cluttering the compositions in a claustrophobic muddle. With these personal objects, the photographer divulges clues about his sitters.