honorable mention
Oskar Alvarado spain
title
Where Fireflies Unfold
STATEMENT
Deleitosa is my village. It is located in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura in Spain. Here my parents, grandparents, great grandparents and other ancestors were born, going back through centuries of family genealogy. Deleitosa was the village that Eugene Smith chose to realize his photographic essay “Spanish Village” that was published in the American magazine Life on April 9, 1951.
Far from showing the perceptible appearance of Deleitosa or some of the visual references linked to what was a photographic icon of the social and economic backwardness in Spanish rural society, my gaze has some subjective nuances linked to a series of experiences, places and personal memories. Reminiscences that have endured as apparitions in my memory. Images that intermingle episodes that float in the my imaginary with the new realities that coexist in the village.
There is an emotional need to reflect on the territory of which we are part. To explore our identity in the echo of the places that still speak to us, or in the absence-presence of the people and beings that inhabit them. To form a visual interpretation that evokes the mystery that manifests itself in everyday rhythms, in the poetic condition that underlies the strange.
In his work, he creates visual worlds where people appear to interact in intimate spaces. In bounded territories to explore our identity. Places to show our fragility. The permanent duality in which we live: the conflict between what we appear to be and our true selves. He put the focus on the moment that consciousness and unconsciousness are found, where reality and fiction blur the border and coexist in the mind in a recreation of two parallel worlds that make up our essence. His motivation is to continue exploring new emotional landscapes. Stagings of the strangeness, of the everyday life dramas hidden in suburban existence.
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entry description
Where Fireflies Unfold is a long-term project that began un 2016 and will probably be finished by 2022 and consists of approximately 65 color photographs. The initial idea was be able to have an exhibition body of a certain magnitude and the possibility of making out a photobook once the series will be finished.STATEMENT
Deleitosa is my village. It is located in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura in Spain. Here my parents, grandparents, great grandparents and other ancestors were born, going back through centuries of family genealogy. Deleitosa was the village that Eugene Smith chose to realize his photographic essay “Spanish Village” that was published in the American magazine Life on April 9, 1951.
Far from showing the perceptible appearance of Deleitosa or some of the visual references linked to what was a photographic icon of the social and economic backwardness in Spanish rural society, my gaze has some subjective nuances linked to a series of experiences, places and personal memories. Reminiscences that have endured as apparitions in my memory. Images that intermingle episodes that float in the my imaginary with the new realities that coexist in the village.
There is an emotional need to reflect on the territory of which we are part. To explore our identity in the echo of the places that still speak to us, or in the absence-presence of the people and beings that inhabit them. To form a visual interpretation that evokes the mystery that manifests itself in everyday rhythms, in the poetic condition that underlies the strange.
about the photographer
Born in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. Oskar Alvarado is a visual artist currently living in Barcelona. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts at Basque Country University (UPV), a MA on Curatorial and Cultural Practices in Art and New Media at Higher School of Design (ESDI) in Barcelona and a Graduate Diploma in Management, Preservation and Dissemination of Photographic Archives at Universitat Autònoma of Barcelona (UAB).In his work, he creates visual worlds where people appear to interact in intimate spaces. In bounded territories to explore our identity. Places to show our fragility. The permanent duality in which we live: the conflict between what we appear to be and our true selves. He put the focus on the moment that consciousness and unconsciousness are found, where reality and fiction blur the border and coexist in the mind in a recreation of two parallel worlds that make up our essence. His motivation is to continue exploring new emotional landscapes. Stagings of the strangeness, of the everyday life dramas hidden in suburban existence.
back to gallery