Photo essay: worried that Brazil's love motels would fall foul of Olympic development, Dutch duo Vera van de Sandt and Jur Oster visited the pay-by-the-hour rooms to capture the moods of these intimate spaces (+ slideshow).
In the run up to this month's Olympic games in Rio, art director Van de Sandt and photographer Oster spent two years travelling around Brazil to track down the often elusive motels. They documented the buildings and interiors, but also spoke to staff and patrons about their experiences.
The duo's images show that the rooms aren't just places for sex, but where young couples escape from large families and spend quality time together.
The photos are on show at Amsterdam's Volkshotel from 5 August to 9 September 2016, and also come as a publication that can be reserved on request. In this essay, Van de Sandt and Oster explain the project:
Brazilians are passionate people. They're not afraid to show their bodies or express their sensuality publicly, as evidenced by their exuberant celebrations of the Rio Carnival each February. Infidelity is commonly thought about, if not openly practiced.
Paradoxically, having multiple partners, homosexuality, and other nonconventional relationships remain in conflict with the more dominant, conservative values that run deep beneath the country's carnal reputation.

Regardless of their sexual tendencies, most Brazilians prefer to avoid a personal reputation for promiscuity, and therefore, desire to express the full rang...