With this delivery, we inaugurate our section Corresponsal: a series of special publications from other latitudes. Though we are located in Caracas, we wish to contain relevant information that feeds our experience of contemporary art beyond the clicks. Guests and spontaneous collaborators will share with us their photographs and texts, as in an attempt to travel beyond the white cube.
P2P: Contemporary Practices in Spanish Photography
By Elena Pastor
In cocktails and inaugurations, people are talking about P2P (Contemporary Practices in Spanish Photography). Many recommend attending the exhibition, one of the highlights of PHotoEspaña 2014. “More than twenty artists are in it; will I see you at the opening?” asks Jesús, a photographer friend exhibiting at the Círculo de Bellas Artes. “Sure, see you tonight!” I reply, drink in hand, from the Botanical Garden.
Once inside the hall, the table is served. Many familiar faces, others distant and blurred. You are greeted at the entrance by a more-than-seven-meter-collage made with material from all the series, disposable images, print tests, tape, spray, occurrences, and wonderful dialogue between the artists. There are encounters and conversations happening between each image. It is a game of creators.
The exhibition is, then, divided in modules by artist. There are twenty-six proposals whose beginning is photography, though not the ultimate end. Spectators walk from wall to wall with individual, current discourses that exceed the image. There are many artists, my sight gets tired, I am over-stimulated. This is not an exhibition of beautiful photos, nor can it be read quickly. I figured I’d have to come back another day, without the furor or the cocktails. P2P makes you think. It invites you to reflect on the reasons of photography in an image-saturated world: the how and why as foundations of creation and engines of the artist. In addition to this internal dialogue, the exhibition facilitated conferences with curators and artists, rooms for debate, and creation for the public.
I took a «selfie» with an elf.
In situ text
P2P. Prácticas contemporáneas en la fotografía española draws together the energy and creativity of 24 contemporary Spanish photographers. The project was comprised of an exhibition and a program of discussions, workshops, and performances that aimed to provide a sense of the scope of the practices and theories at play in contemporary Spanish photography. Despite the variety of ways in which these practitioners approach photography, there is a common feature that they share. Namely, a way of working that hinges on the dynamic of collaborative and creative networks, and the exchange of resources and knowledge. The process of curating this exhibition consciously reflected this creative reality and had two phases: Discussions between the selected artists and curators began with an online platform. It was designed to host our conversations over three months about current modes of practice, ideas about the medium of photography and the positions that artists can adopt in our contemporary image-media ecology. The website served as the starting point for generating the exhibition concept.
The exhibition concept developed into a series of visual dialogues between small groups of artists that share lines of investigation. From the outset of the working process, we wanted the program of events to provide entry points for visitors into focused and lively experiences of contemporary Spanish photographic practices. Through the duration of this exhibition, there were discussions, workshops and participatory events proposed and hosted by the selected artists and their creative networks.
Curators: Charlotte Cotton, Luis Díaz Díaz e Iñaki Domingo.
