Jury’s choice n°5

“Mirroring the extremes of hedonism and nihilism embodied in contemporary youth culture, Agony in the Garden is a close encounter with young people involved in a global and diverse cultural wave as it unfolds uniquely at the local level”

fragment from the catalogue of the exhibition at ICP “Close Enough New Perspectives from 13 Women Photographers of Magnum”

I am applying to the Prix Virginia with my most recent body of work entitled Agony in the Garden. Since 2021 within the backdrop of the pandemic, I have been collaborating with young people throughout central and southern Spain. The aim of the series was to pay close attention to contemporary youth movements, reflecting on the emancipatory potential of mainstream expressions of our time, and how they relate to the context of a precarious job market, institutional violence, migratory, financial and environmental crisis.

My work always starts with something that I am really close to. I listen to Trap, Drill and current music genres, observing how these cultural movements articulate the precarity of living through crisis after crisis combined with the euphoria of making everything in your own way and sharing it directly, without any censorship from intermediary platforms or global corporations. The DNA of this frenetic and raw expression characterised by hedonism vs nihilism, darkness vs joy, the glorification of wealth and banalization of violence, are resonating globally for a reason.

As an image maker, I felt inspired by a scene and aesthetic that came from somewhere honest and responded to what was really going on, and to think about how it released all of this energy and on such a scale. Embracing a visual research and a performative collaboration that is integral to my work, I focussed on a series of gestures and landscapes to evoke a particular atmosphere product of the relationships I enter into with the people I photograph.

Movements of this kind would have historically been labeled as a subculture by the media, photojournalism, and traditional documentary, however it’s important for me to be resistant to those conventions. I embrace the fact that my work comes from a primitive need for love and connection and try to transcend the anecdotal or pure testimonial.

Photography and society can both be deeply contradictory; simultaneously erotic and violent, subtle and gentle. I believe that it’s important to make images that have inherent contradictions and are open to interpretation, creating a space where you can see yourself.