"Velado" and "451, literatura en llamas", by Marc Villalba

451, literatura en llamas

The practice of burning books is considered offensive for many different reasons: for some, it is a form of political or religious censorship. For others, the public burning of books means free publicity whose effect is to draw attention to books that otherwise might not have become widely known. For this reason, some authorities prefer to destroy books in secret.

There is, however, another practice when it comes to burning books, albeit a very minority practice: that of a private and individual act of love towards literature. Unlike burning as censorship and cultural repression, these other book burners are not intended to eliminate all copies of the same book to prevent others from reading it, but instead execute certain concrete copies as an act of purging the library itself, in declaration of love to those that remain.

415, literatura en llamas is a literary magazine that talks about persecuted works, forbidden authors and books that have been considered subversive over time. It is also a space where the current narrative, critical vision and defense of culture as a tool for the formation of critical minds serves as a starting point to discuss literature with those passionate about it.

The magazine was born with the intention of rescuing from the fire what should never have burned and with the determination to face those who believe that fire can silence culture or eliminate what is subversive. 451 is a publication made by those who love literature for those who burn for it.

The main objectives of this editorial project were: to determine the editorial line using part of the content of a previous publication and adapting it, to determine more relevant aspects in the art direction and structure of each section of the magazine, and to obtain a layout and apply it for the creation of a periodic publication with fixed and variable structures.

Velado

Veiled (adj.) Covered with a veil, hidden, foggy. In Spanish, it is also the erasure, total or partial of the image on a photographic negative by an excess of light.

A sound that is hushed, or softened. A negative statement or intent that is obscured. That which lacks clarity, that which is cloudy, dull, blurred, covered.

Ultimately derived from the Latin velare, with meanings including to watch over, to care for. Latent, existing, but hidden. Constant feeling or pain, though neither strong nor sharp.

This photographic project, Velado, brings together some of the things that my father saved, during his years working as a graphic designer in an advertising agency. All of these objects (drawings, negatives, sketches, photographs), found some time after he died, keep him present in some way. Discovering these boxes was the initiation point for this project. The photographs that I produced later, as a response to this presence, complete the story, speaking of his absence as I live it. Presence and absence thus construct a narrative away from rational discourse, speaking from intuition and metaphor. They form a dialogue speaking of concepts as universal as loss, memory, the passing of time and acceptance.

To formalize the book, I worked constantly to construct an object-book that would offer the chance of different readings. Its binding allows it to be seen as a single tome or as two joined pieces, one next to the other. Images are distributed throughout both parts of the book, offering a guide to the reader who wants to follow the story as it was conceived. Or, ignoring this clue, the book can be read at random, creating new interpretations.

This project was a finalist for the Fiebre Dummy Award 2019, part of the Fiebre Photobook Festival.