BARCELONA.- This is How We Look, Is This Who We Are? is the first photography group exhibition presented by Alzueta Gallery. The show takes place at the gallery’s location in Carrer Sèneca, 9-11, Barcelona.
It wasn’t so long ago that photography became part of the gallery world, which sometimes makes it difficult to find a common thread among artists working in this medium. However, many contemporary approaches share a common interest: exploring the boundaries between reality and fiction, as well as the limits between the natural and the artificial. In the case of portraits —and, especially, in self-portraits—this interest translates into an investigation of identity, using appearance as a way to question the roles we play in society. This approach is precisely reflected in This Is How We Look, Is This Who We Are?.
In the pieces that form the exhibition, identity is understood as an ever-changing concept, constantly evolving and reinventing itself. The artists do not simply document a state of being; they construct it, molding it to their specifications. Rather than reflecting a fixed reality, the artists perform before the camera and, by extension, before the viewer. Through the use of light effects, experimentation with clothing, or pictorial interventions, the photographers take on various roles and envision possible futures. In doing so, they emphasize the artificial and ambiguous nature of stereotypes, challenging their relevance in today’s increasingly complex world.
It is clear that the frameworks we once used to label and shape ways of looking —and being looked at— have become obsolete. In this context, photography becomes an open space, a field for imagination, where identity is no longer solid but instead transforms into a continuous process of reinterpretation.
As Susan Sontag points out in On Photography, a photograph is not just an image created by an artist, but also a new type of relationship between human beings and the world they inhabit. It is at this point, where infinite approaches arise, that we encounter the works of Rala Choi (Gimhae, South Korea, 1987), who invites us to reflect on emotional relationships and how we connect through intimacy; or those of Amy Friend (Ontario, Canada, 1974), who, through the use of found objects applied to photography, illustrates the different roles we embody as individuals in specific contexts.
Meanwhile, Xènia Fuentes (Barcelona, Spain, 1981) engages with the self, self-awareness, and the duality of observer-observed, while Andrea Torres Balaguer (Barcelona, Spain, 1991) addresses a veiled self-representation that invites interpretation of an image navigating the boundaries between the conscious and the subconscious, between reality and fiction. Similarly, Bastiaan Woudt (Bergen, Netherlands, 1987) presents black-and-white daydreams that find harmony between the organic and the geometric.
In today’s technological society, our relationship with machines is also worth questioning: what is their capacity compared to human ability? This is the premise examined by Evelyn Bencicova (Bratislava, Slovakia, 1992) in her series Artificial Tears, based on the evaluation test developed by Alan Turing in the 1950s. Meanwhile, María Svarbova (Zlaté Moravce, Slovakia, 1991) captures sterile architectural spaces from the communist era, transforming them into repetitive images dominated by symmetry and an atmosphere of stillness. These scenes sit between the calm of contemplation and the solitude of human experience.
There are photographs that, instead of merely recording reality, play a decisive role in shaping our understanding and perception of it. In this sense, Camila Falquez (Mexico City, Mexico, 1989) reflects this idea in her photographs from the series Compañerx, framed within the first legislative project for the protection of trans and non-binary people in Colombia. Similarly, Bettina Rheims (Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, 1952) challenges notions of eroticism by parodying early pornographic photographs, capturing non-professional models; while Carlota Guerrero (Barcelona, Spain, 1989) highlights female empowerment and individual freedom, expressed through fashion, always steering clear of clichés and conventions.
Our clothes, the costumes we wear, are not merely an aesthetic choice but also the result of cultural, economic, and social contexts throughout history. Sarah Moon (Vernon, France, 1941) amplifies in this sense the field of fashion photography through pictorial interventions; while Trine Søndergaard (Grenå, Denmark, 1972) presents in Hovedtøj portraits of young girls wearing historical garments alongside their own clothing, linking past and present, uniting different bodies and lives, and allowing women to connect across generations and time.
Through a variety of visual languages, the artists featured in This is How We Look, Is This Who We Are? delve into the question of identity in our society, one of the central themes of contemporary artistic photography. The exhibition deliberately leaves the question open, inviting the viewer to imagine possible answers through the images.
