FRECUENCIA (solo show), 2022
Curated by Maria Jose Sagredo.
Installation views, Galería Animal, Santiago de Chile.
Installation photograph © Felipe Ugalde.
Works available with Galería Animal.
Gelatin silver prints (fiber 255 grs.), Fine art prints (Hahnemühle Rag Baryta 315 grs.). Unique frames (various sizes) on Raulí wood and Nielsen aluminium frames, mounted to archival board with museum glass; Gelatin silver prints and unique Newspaper prints, mounted with Rare-Earth Magnets.
Audio by artist Justin Pape. Composed by improvisational guitar recordings and field recordings in Ontario, Canada. The audio piece was part of the show "Frecuencia" at Galería Animal, Santiago de Chile.
ESPACIO MIGRANTE (group show), 2023
Curated by Anamaría Briede y Catalina de la Cruz
Selected works from Frequency
Museo de la Ciudad, Querétaro, México
The project takes as its reference - axis - the American territory, specifically South America, and from there it seeks to re-articulate, re-draw and above all re-connect the borders from the photographic practice.
The work is based on the possibility of creating a dialectic that de-configures the notions of territory, identity and geography from the South American perspective that unites us, to inhabit and materialize the poetic illusion of a new imaginary, as a cartography of particular experiences, historical, social, political and emotional contexts. A collaborative visual writing as a repository of mental, intimate, public, emotional images as a glossary of territorial geolocations that indicate the cultural plurality of America.
Frequency, B-Sides (Set of 3)
Intended to waste as little as possible, these three publications are a photo/graphic and editorial exercise using proof sheets from Frequency's printing process. Randomly cropped and edited into three unique b-side books.
5 x 6.75 inches
Over 400 pages each
Uniques
Photopolymer Gravure (diptych), 2021 — Hahnemühle German Etching, 22 x 15.5 inches. Printed in collaboration with print maker Angela Snieder. Unique
COLLECTIONS
2023 — MoMA - Museum of Modern Art, Archives & Library Collection (US)
2023 — NAC - National Gallery of Canada, Library & Archives Collection (CA)
2023 — Library & Archives Canada / Bibliothéque et Archives Canada, Collection (CA)
2023 — AGO - Art Gallery of Ontario, Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives Collection (CA)
2023 — San Telmo Museum, Gabriela Cendoya Bergareche Collection (ES)
2023 — CONTACT Photobook Lab, CONTACT Photography Festival (CA)
AWARDS, GRANTS, HONOURS
2023 — Getxophoto. Pause! Open Call 2023. Shortlisted (ES)
2022 — Canada Council for the Arts. Travel Grant. Arts Abroad program (CA)
2022 — Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2022, Nominee (GE)
2022 — Ontario Art Council. Exhibition Assistance Grant 2021-2022 (CA)
2021 — The Burtynsky Grant. Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Winner (CA)
2021 — Urbanautica Institute Awards 2020. Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts. Winner (IT)
EXHIBITIONS, TALKS, FAIRS
2023 — Photobook Exhibition and Panel Talk (group show) Rencontres de la photographie en Gaspésie (CA)
2023 — CONTACT Photobook Fair. Stephen Bulger Gallery (CA)
2023 — Espacio Migrante (group show). Museo de la Ciudad, Santiago de Querétaro (MX)
2022 — Frecuencia (solo show), Galería Animal (CL)
2022 — Salon 44 (group show), Gallery 44 (CA)
2021 — Latin American Galleries Now. Galería Animal + Artsy (US)
PRESS, REVIEWS
2024 — The Urbanaut Podcast (IT)
2023 — Ciel variable, Photobook Review by Louis Perreault (CA)
2023 — Palm Studios. Featured work (UK)
2022 — Frecuencia, Artishock Magazine. Article by Alejandra Villasmil (CL)
2022 — FotoNostrum Magazine, Issue 23. Feature Article (ES)
2021 — Urbanautica Institute Awards 2020. Book (IT)
FRECUENCIA (solo show), 2022
Curated by Maria Jose Sagredo.
Installation views, Galería Animal, Santiago de Chile.
Installation photograph © Felipe Ugalde.
Works available with Galería Animal.
Gelatin silver prints (fiber 255 grs.), Fine art prints (Hahnemühle Rag Baryta 315 grs.). Unique frames (various sizes) on Raulí wood and Nielsen aluminium frames, mounted to archival board with museum glass; Gelatin silver prints and unique Newspaper prints, mounted with Rare-Earth Magnets.
Audio by artist Justin Pape. Composed by improvisational guitar recordings and field recordings in Ontario, Canada. The audio piece was part of the show "Frecuencia" at Galería Animal, Santiago de Chile.
Frequency, B-Sides (Set of 3)
Intended to waste as little as possible, these three publications are a photo/graphic and editorial exercise using proof sheets from Frequency's printing process. Randomly cropped and edited into three unique b-side books.
5 x 6.75 inches
Over 400 pages each
Uniques
Photopolymer Gravure (diptych), 2021 — Hahnemühle German Etching, 22 x 15.5 inches. Printed in collaboration with print maker Angela Snieder. Unique
COLLECTIONS
2023 — MoMA - Museum of Modern Art, Archives & Library Collection (US)
2023 — NAC - National Gallery of Canada, Library & Archives Collection (CA)
2023 — Library & Archives Canada / Bibliothéque et Archives Canada, Collection (CA)
2023 — AGO - Art Gallery of Ontario, Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives Collection (CA)
2023 — San Telmo Museum, Gabriela Cendoya Bergareche Collection (ES)
2023 — CONTACT Photobook Lab, CONTACT Photography Festival (CA)
AWARDS, GRANTS, HONOURS
2023 — Getxophoto. Pause! Open Call 2023. Shortlisted (ES)
2022 — Canada Council for the Arts. Travel Grant. Arts Abroad program (CA)
2022 — Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2022, Nominee (GE)
2022 — Ontario Art Council. Exhibition Assistance Grant 2021-2022 (CA)
2021 — The Burtynsky Grant. Scotiabank CONTACT Photography Festival. Winner (CA)
2021 — Urbanautica Institute Awards 2020. Representations of Space, Architecture, and Conflicts. Winner (IT)
EXHIBITIONS, TALKS, FAIRS
2023 — Photobook Exhibition and Panel Talk (group show) Rencontres de la photographie en Gaspésie (CA)
2023 — CONTACT Photobook Fair. Stephen Bulger Gallery (CA)
2023 — Espacio Migrante (group show). Museo de la Ciudad, Santiago de Querétaro (MX)
2022 — Frecuencia (solo show), Galería Animal (CL)
2022 — Salon 44 (group show), Gallery 44 (CA)
2021 — Latin American Galleries Now. Galería Animal + Artsy (US)
PRESS, REVIEWS
2024 — The Urbanaut Podcast (IT)
2023 — Ciel variable, Photobook Review by Louis Perreault (CA)
2023 — Palm Studios. Featured work (UK)
2022 — Frecuencia, Artishock Magazine. Article by Alejandra Villasmil (CL)
2022 — FotoNostrum Magazine, Issue 23. Feature Article (ES)
2021 — Urbanautica Institute Awards 2020. Book (IT)
Untitled (Atacama)...
Valle
Paisaje Común, at Galería Animal
Unfold
Unfold Billboards, at Contact Photography Festival
OMNE, Land (Artist Residency)
Frecuencia, at Galería Animal
Frequency, b-sides
Frequency
On Trial
Displace
Displace at Project 107 Gallery
Notes (On Trial) 03
Notes (On Trial) 02
Notes (On Trial) 01
Trama at Sur Gallery
Untitled (Sequel)
Info
Publications
News
[ENG]
Once Chile recovered its democracy in 1990, a remarkable process of western-style development (Moore, 1966) started based on an economic model that delivered macroeconomic progress (The World Bank, 2021), but which has left behind many communities across the country (Benedikter & Zlosilo, 2017; Fábrega, 2019; Siavelis, 2010). Just like many other of the so-called high-income countries, there are still communities in Chile living in poor conditions, despite the incorporation of Chile to the OECD in 2010 and the international recognition of the Chilean model of development (Richards, 1997).
The Huasco Valley is one of those places still left behind. Located in the south of the Atacama Desert and known as the last valley before entering the driest desert on earth, the Huasco river gives life to the valley, its people and their ways of living. The Valley is formed by four main communities (namely Huasco, Freirina, Vallenar, and Alto del Carmen) reaching a population of about 72,000 people distributed along 150 km from the Pacific Ocean up to more than 4,000 m.a.s.l. in The Andes. The main economic activities of the region, other than services, are by far mining (41% of the regional GDP) with one of the highest GDP per capita among regions in Chile (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, n.d.) but still with many unsolved socio-environmental issues (Environmental Justice Atlas, n.d.; Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos, n.d.), reflecting the inequality Chile still suffers . Although the Valley has been subject to the development of industrial and mining projects for years (Bolados-García et al., 2021), emblematic developments have been cancelled due to public pressure and the companies’ poor socio-environmental practices, despite being approved by authorities. These include mining, agroindustry and energy projects. Some of the identified impacts of these projects include high levels of heavy metals in children and local produce, intolerable odours from pig carcasses, pollution of the local sea by mining tailings and long-lasting sediments in the Huasco river (Insunza, 2015; Myllyvirta et al., 2020; Vargas Aceituno, 2014). As seen, academic literature, as well as NGO research, show vast evidence of the social and environmental impact of these projects in the communities of the Valley.
Under this troubling scenario of development, investment, justice and distrust, conflicts appear due to the unfair distribution of social and environmental ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ that threaten the health, livelihood and social identities of these communities (Scheidel et al., 2020). Industrial territorial interventions, while creating employment, paying taxes and benefitting the local economy, also bring negative externalities that affect people’s ways of living, they hardly distribute economic benefits equally, and governments usually behave unilaterally (Amengual, 2018).
This work focuses on those communities and their territories with the aim of understanding the rationale of development and the potential role that multinationals play in it. After visiting the Valley, talking to its citizens and photographing its diverse landscape from the ocean to the mountain, we found a sensation of uncertainty and abandonment, and our work reflects the visible and invisible, the ephemeral and permanent, the transformations, adaptations, relationships and the intertwined conflicts existing across the valley.
Text by Eduardo Ordonez-Ponce, PhD.
Associate Professor, Athabasca University
[ESP]
Una vez que Chile recuperó su democracia en 1990, este comenzó un notable proceso de desarrollo de estilo occidental (Moore, 1966) basado en un modelo económico que generó progreso macroeconómico (The World Bank, 2021), pero que ha dejado atrás a muchas comunidades en todo el país (Benedikter & Zlosilo, 2017; Fábrega, 2019; Siavelis, 2010). Al igual que muchos otros de los llamados países de altos ingresos, en Chile aún existen comunidades que viven en condiciones precarias, a pesar de la incorporación de Chile a la OCDE en 2010 y el reconocimiento internacional del modelo chileno de desarrollo (Richards, 1997) .
El Valle de Huasco es uno de esos lugares que aún quedan atrás. Ubicado al sur del Desierto de Atacama y conocido como el último valle antes de ingresar al desierto más árido de la tierra, el río Huasco da vida al valle, a su gente y a sus formas de vivir. El Valle está formado por cuatro comunidades principales (Huasco, Freirina, Vallenar y Alto del Carmen) alcanzando una población de alrededor de 72.000 personas distribuidas a lo largo de 150 km desde el Océano Pacífico hasta más de 4.000 m.s.n.m. en la Cordillera de Los Andes. Las principales actividades económicas de la región, además de los servicios, son por lejos la minería (41% del PIB regional) con uno de los PIB per cápita más altos entre las regiones de Chile (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, n.d.), pero aún con muchos problemas socioambientales sin resolver (Environmental Justice Atlas, d.f.; Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos, n.d.), que reflejan la desigualdad que aún sufre Chile. Si bien el Valle ha sido objeto del desarrollo de proyectos industriales y mineros durante años (Bolados-García et al., 2021), proyectos emblemáticos han sido cancelados por la presión pública y las malas prácticas socioambientales de las empresas, a pesar de haber sido aprobados por autoridades. Estos incluyen proyectos de minería, agroindustria y energía. Algunos de los impactos identificados de estos proyectos incluyen altos niveles de metales pesados impactando niños y productos locales, olores intolerables de los cadáveres de cerdos, contaminación del mar local por relaves mineros y sedimentos de larga duración en el río Huasco (Insunza, 2015; Myllyvirta et al. al., 2020; Vargas Aceituno, 2014). Como se ve, la literatura académica, así como las investigaciones de las ONG, muestran vasta evidencia del impacto social y ambiental de estos proyectos en las comunidades del Valle.
Bajo este preocupante escenario de desarrollo, inversión, justicia y desconfianza, aparecen conflictos por la injusta distribución de 'bienes' y 'males' sociales y ambientales que amenazan la salud, el sustento y la identidad social de estas comunidades (Scheidel et al., 2020). Las intervenciones territoriales industriales, si bien crean empleo, pagan impuestos y benefician la economía local, también traen externalidades negativas que afectan las formas de vida de las personas, difícilmente distribuyen los beneficios económicos de manera equitativa y los gobiernos suelen actuar de manera unilateral (Amengual, 2018).
Este trabajo se centra en esas comunidades y sus territorios con el objetivo de comprender la lógica del desarrollo y el papel potencial que las multinacionales juegan en él. Luego de visitar el Valle, conversar con sus habitantes y fotografiar su diverso paisaje desde el mar hasta la montaña, nos encontramos con una sensación de incertidumbre y abandono, y nuestra obra refleja lo visible e invisible, lo efímero y permanente, las transformaciones, adaptaciones, relaciones y los conflictos entrelazados que existen en todo el valle.
Texto de Eduardo Ordóñez-Ponce, PhD.
Profesor asociado, Universidad de Athabasca
[ENG]
Once Chile recovered its democracy in 1990, a remarkable process of western-style development (Moore, 1966) started based on an economic model that delivered macroeconomic progress (The World Bank, 2021), but which has left behind many communities across the country (Benedikter & Zlosilo, 2017; Fábrega, 2019; Siavelis, 2010). Just like many other of the so-called high-income countries, there are still communities in Chile living in poor conditions, despite the incorporation of Chile to the OECD in 2010 and the international recognition of the Chilean model of development (Richards, 1997).
The Huasco Valley is one of those places still left behind. Located in the south of the Atacama Desert and known as the last valley before entering the driest desert on earth, the Huasco river gives life to the valley, its people and their ways of living. The Valley is formed by four main communities (namely Huasco, Freirina, Vallenar, and Alto del Carmen) reaching a population of about 72,000 people distributed along 150 km from the Pacific Ocean up to more than 4,000 m.a.s.l. in The Andes. The main economic activities of the region, other than services, are by far mining (41% of the regional GDP) with one of the highest GDP per capita among regions in Chile (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, n.d.) but still with many unsolved socio-environmental issues (Environmental Justice Atlas, n.d.; Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos, n.d.), reflecting the inequality Chile still suffers . Although the Valley has been subject to the development of industrial and mining projects for years (Bolados-García et al., 2021), emblematic developments have been cancelled due to public pressure and the companies’ poor socio-environmental practices, despite being approved by authorities. These include mining, agroindustry and energy projects. Some of the identified impacts of these projects include high levels of heavy metals in children and local produce, intolerable odours from pig carcasses, pollution of the local sea by mining tailings and long-lasting sediments in the Huasco river (Insunza, 2015; Myllyvirta et al., 2020; Vargas Aceituno, 2014). As seen, academic literature, as well as NGO research, show vast evidence of the social and environmental impact of these projects in the communities of the Valley.
Under this troubling scenario of development, investment, justice and distrust, conflicts appear due to the unfair distribution of social and environmental ‘goods’ and ‘bads’ that threaten the health, livelihood and social identities of these communities (Scheidel et al., 2020). Industrial territorial interventions, while creating employment, paying taxes and benefitting the local economy, also bring negative externalities that affect people’s ways of living, they hardly distribute economic benefits equally, and governments usually behave unilaterally (Amengual, 2018).
This work focuses on those communities and their territories with the aim of understanding the rationale of development and the potential role that multinationals play in it. After visiting the Valley, talking to its citizens and photographing its diverse landscape from the ocean to the mountain, we found a sensation of uncertainty and abandonment, and our work reflects the visible and invisible, the ephemeral and permanent, the transformations, adaptations, relationships and the intertwined conflicts existing across the valley.
Text by Eduardo Ordonez-Ponce, PhD.
Associate Professor, Athabasca University
[ESP]
Una vez que Chile recuperó su democracia en 1990, este comenzó un notable proceso de desarrollo de estilo occidental (Moore, 1966) basado en un modelo económico que generó progreso macroeconómico (The World Bank, 2021), pero que ha dejado atrás a muchas comunidades en todo el país (Benedikter & Zlosilo, 2017; Fábrega, 2019; Siavelis, 2010). Al igual que muchos otros de los llamados países de altos ingresos, en Chile aún existen comunidades que viven en condiciones precarias, a pesar de la incorporación de Chile a la OCDE en 2010 y el reconocimiento internacional del modelo chileno de desarrollo (Richards, 1997) .
El Valle de Huasco es uno de esos lugares que aún quedan atrás. Ubicado al sur del Desierto de Atacama y conocido como el último valle antes de ingresar al desierto más árido de la tierra, el río Huasco da vida al valle, a su gente y a sus formas de vivir. El Valle está formado por cuatro comunidades principales (Huasco, Freirina, Vallenar y Alto del Carmen) alcanzando una población de alrededor de 72.000 personas distribuidas a lo largo de 150 km desde el Océano Pacífico hasta más de 4.000 m.s.n.m. en la Cordillera de Los Andes. Las principales actividades económicas de la región, además de los servicios, son por lejos la minería (41% del PIB regional) con uno de los PIB per cápita más altos entre las regiones de Chile (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas, n.d.), pero aún con muchos problemas socioambientales sin resolver (Environmental Justice Atlas, d.f.; Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos, n.d.), que reflejan la desigualdad que aún sufre Chile. Si bien el Valle ha sido objeto del desarrollo de proyectos industriales y mineros durante años (Bolados-García et al., 2021), proyectos emblemáticos han sido cancelados por la presión pública y las malas prácticas socioambientales de las empresas, a pesar de haber sido aprobados por autoridades. Estos incluyen proyectos de minería, agroindustria y energía. Algunos de los impactos identificados de estos proyectos incluyen altos niveles de metales pesados impactando niños y productos locales, olores intolerables de los cadáveres de cerdos, contaminación del mar local por relaves mineros y sedimentos de larga duración en el río Huasco (Insunza, 2015; Myllyvirta et al. al., 2020; Vargas Aceituno, 2014). Como se ve, la literatura académica, así como las investigaciones de las ONG, muestran vasta evidencia del impacto social y ambiental de estos proyectos en las comunidades del Valle.
Bajo este preocupante escenario de desarrollo, inversión, justicia y desconfianza, aparecen conflictos por la injusta distribución de 'bienes' y 'males' sociales y ambientales que amenazan la salud, el sustento y la identidad social de estas comunidades (Scheidel et al., 2020). Las intervenciones territoriales industriales, si bien crean empleo, pagan impuestos y benefician la economía local, también traen externalidades negativas que afectan las formas de vida de las personas, difícilmente distribuyen los beneficios económicos de manera equitativa y los gobiernos suelen actuar de manera unilateral (Amengual, 2018).
Este trabajo se centra en esas comunidades y sus territorios con el objetivo de comprender la lógica del desarrollo y el papel potencial que las multinacionales juegan en él. Luego de visitar el Valle, conversar con sus habitantes y fotografiar su diverso paisaje desde el mar hasta la montaña, nos encontramos con una sensación de incertidumbre y abandono, y nuestra obra refleja lo visible e invisible, lo efímero y permanente, las transformaciones, adaptaciones, relaciones y los conflictos entrelazados que existen en todo el valle.
Texto de Eduardo Ordóñez-Ponce, PhD.
Profesor asociado, Universidad de Athabasca
Photographs
Untitled (Atacama)...
Valle
Unfold
OMNE, Land (Artist Residency)
Frequency
On Trial
Displace
Notes 01, 02, 03 (On Trial)
Trama
Untitled (Sequel)