"ExpoSURE 2024. Photographers as designers, designers as photographers" is the online exhibition of the projects of the students of the Postgraduate Diploma in Photography and Editorial Design, which is presented on Eina's Instagram from 1 to 30 July.
Approaching the visual universe of the students of the Eina Postgraduate Diploma in Photography and Editorial Design is always to immerse oneself in a sea of plural looks, where experimentation and the search for their own language become an exercise in introspection and revelation for themselves. This year, the harvest does not disappoint and has proved to be as select and perfumed as ever, offering a visual banquet that defies convention and explores the depths of being.
The photographers of the ExpoSURE2024 collective capture the ephemeral and the eternal, reminding us that "authenticity" is ultimately a cultural pact, as Shoshana Feldman puts it. The work of our young photographers does not seek absolute 'truth', but navigates the waters of the subjective, the fragmented and the intimate, revealing partial truths that resonate with the human experience.
Matías Salinas' lyrical stage constructions evoke theatricality and artifice, reminiscent of Jeff Wall's set designs, where each element is carefully orchestrated to tell a story beyond the visible. These scenarios become spaces for reflection, where the spectator is invited to question reality and participate in an open and unfinished narrative.
In contrast, Carmen Barreiro delves into darker territories, populated by ghosts of absinthe and celluloid, echoes of a past that intertwines with the present in a play of shadows and light. This aesthetic, which evokes the decadent spirit of Parisian bohemia and German expressionist cinema, speaks to us of a memory that refuses to disappear and which finds in artistic and material photography a means of perpetuating itself.
The unconscious influence of Abbas Kiarostami is palpable in Júlia Pérez Llach's slow photography, where the leisurely contemplation of a nondescript orchard becomes a meditation on time and nature. Her camera is not a mere instrument of capture, but an extension of the eye that observes and the soul that feels, transforming the everyday into indie visual poetry.
The survival of the pitcher in the suburb's courtyards of lights transports us to a universe of struggle and resistance, where each image is a testimony to the photographer's ability to find stories in the most unexpected corners. Giulio Lazzarini's work, charged with narrative and visual strength, evokes the harsh reality of exile and resilience, recalling the lyricism and dignity of Ken Loach's characters. His photobook HOME RUN is a delight that tells more about Lazzarini than about the baseball player himself.
Armando Cora's urban trifteo captures the essence of a phenomenon that has captivated the Z Generation. Second-hand flea markets have gone from being a resource for vulnerable women to become a shopping "temple" for young people, influencers and fashion aficionados. These young urbanites avidly seek out unique garments to build a personal image that Cora's mirrors never reflect. This work, with its sartorialist aesthetic, reveals how trifteo has become a vibrant cultural expression, where each garment tells a story and each image invites you to peel back the layers of fashion.
Danishta Estuardo's work is immersed in a universe of precious still lifes with a black background, where she recreates rituals aimed at exorcising inner wounds. Feathers, dildos, Mary dolls and plastic eyes become symbolic elements in a colourful exercise that transcends the merely visual, suggesting a process of healing and self-knowledge. Each of Danishta's compositions invites us into a world of introspection and liberation, where aesthetics and meaning intertwine in a dance that, while shocking, leaves the viewer wanting to further explore the emotional depths hinted at in each image.
Finally, María Brañas' masterful archival deconstruction of the myth of the nuclear family takes us into a territory where photography becomes an exercise in memory and reconstruction. Instead of a Boltanski-like viewing room, Brañas reveals the film of her life, with a harsh fragility that leaves us, at times, breathless. A very "zeitgeist" photobook, which reminds me of Paula Tudela's Das Ende.
Taken together, the work of these students is a testimony to the richness and diversity of contemporary photographic art, a space where experimentation and the search for new forms of expression intertwine with tradition and memory. Each image is a window into a world, an invitation to look beyond the obvious and to discover the multiple layers of meaning hidden behind each click of the shutter. Thus, the intimate journey of these photographers becomes a mirror in which we can all recognise and rediscover ourselves, and indeed, we have. Enjoy it as much as we did.
Dolors Soriano
Co-director of the Postgraduate Programme
Cover image: Matías Salinas