1st place
gold star award
Ximena Bares
spain
title
THE LAST DAY IN THE LIFE OF NORA BARES
When she first mentioned the idea of taking her own life, I was very angry. No matter how much I argued that there was no drama in her decision, for me it was the beginning of an ordeal full of fear and anguish. I will not dwell on my efforts to get the idea out of her head, nor her efforts to get it into mine. In the end she won the game and set a date for her departure.
The series of photographs you will see below were taken by me on the last day I spent with Nora. That day we got up just before dawn, drank coffee and smoked in silence in our kitchen. Later we went out to wander around several of our favourite places. Around 7 p.m., Nora hugged me for a long time, then turned and walked off into the woods. I would never see her alive again. I got in the car, got home and climbed into bed.
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entry description
Nora and I were born seven minutes apart. We were physically the same except for two details: our navels and our fingerprints. Paradoxically, our characters were polar opposites.When she first mentioned the idea of taking her own life, I was very angry. No matter how much I argued that there was no drama in her decision, for me it was the beginning of an ordeal full of fear and anguish. I will not dwell on my efforts to get the idea out of her head, nor her efforts to get it into mine. In the end she won the game and set a date for her departure.
The series of photographs you will see below were taken by me on the last day I spent with Nora. That day we got up just before dawn, drank coffee and smoked in silence in our kitchen. Later we went out to wander around several of our favourite places. Around 7 p.m., Nora hugged me for a long time, then turned and walked off into the woods. I would never see her alive again. I got in the car, got home and climbed into bed.
about the photographer
Photography is a practice that allows me to play. I use reality as a starting point to create situations that escape that same reality by evoking dream-like, sometimes unsettling images. I am drawn to the world of dreams, to human psychology, to exploring the different identities human beings take on to protect themselves from a menacing outside world and how individuals relate to their own solitude. The rural environment where I live, which is at the same time raw and overwhelmingly beautiful, is the perfect scenario for me to become the protagonist of that playing in which everything is possible.back to gallery