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Tornaras
2018
Those are real places where it all occured, real objects and real notes exchanged by the lovers. “Tornaras”, in a sense, are photographs that take the form of a long and intimate letter to someone’s memory.
Photography came as a rescue. Before the camera is the performance, the self portrait and, paraphrasing a master of the juxtaposition between documentary and fiction,the dual imaginary function of cinema. Abbas Kiarostami wrote that he was after the reality behind the appearent reality. This performance was made while we forgot it was a performance.
Article written by Santos Muñoz
A performance of memory.
A lullaby of nostalgia.
Although lullabies are typically played for children to help sooth and put them to sleep, in some cultures they are used to pass down tradition and knowledge. Through the performance of Tornaras, I can’t help but feel like a song, or lullaby, is being presented to me. As the images progress, I am being guided through your story. You are teaching me about your love, warning me about vulnerability, celebrating the body, and reminding me to pay attention to each detail. These images carry emotional weight, commanding the viewer to pay attention, to care about the subject matter. You are fearless in your presentation of the body, and of what it means to “remember.”
Your strict framing, directing my eyes into your work, leaves no room for guessing: These photographs, this person, these things are important to you. You utilize the square format in a way that is traditional and intentional, but also soft. Double exposures, pastel color pallets, presentation of the skin.. these contribute to the “softening” of the frame, inviting me to view the image. Even with the most direct part of the male body (penis), you’ve managed to maintain this sense of beauty, and appreciation. None of these images are angry or sad. They’re filled with intention, experience and love.
Each image carries it’s own weight, tells it’s own stories… The bedsheets you shared, the bodies you held together, the things that become a part of your life and you make important when you are with someone. All of these things take on a very different meaning when someone “leaves.”
I am a silent observer into your memory, and a listener of your lullaby. These pictures quietly sing of the knowledge you’ve gained through love that’s moved on, but isn’t forgotten.