Photo exhibition rewards Mexican artists

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Albinos in Mexico and the ‘human tragedy’ of Mexican society were focuses of the winning entries in one the country’s longest-running photography competitions, the results of which are now on display in Mexico City’s impressive Centro de Imagen.

Gerardo Montiel Klint, born in Mexico City in 1968, was one of the winners of the 13th Bienal de Fotografia, which as its name suggests takes place every two years.

An image from his project ‘Volutas de Humo / Smoke Spirals,’ can be seen below.

The other winner wasAndrés Carretero, 28, who was rewarded by the judges for his portraits of members of Mexico’s albino community (above).

‘During 2007, I took portraits of some of the most fascinating minorities in our society -- the albino community,’ says Carretero in text posted next to his work in the show.

‘I tried to get close to those people that society itself has left to the side. I gave myself the job of documenting with my camera the sense of identity and belonging of this group of Mexicans. In an ironic manner, I chose scenes that showed this community out of context: the beach, ice factories and open spaces, where some found themselves more exposed to the environment than others. However, all of them maintained a certain air of graciousness and superiority.’

Honorable mentions in the contest went to four other pieces of work.

Jose Luis Cuevas was noted for his ‘Hombre Promedio / Average Man’ series of photographs, in which he took portraits of men on their way to the office in Mexico City.

Oswaldo Ruiz got a nod for his work ‘Luto Humano / Human Mourning,’ taken in the northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon.

Livia Corona impressed the judges with her selection of images depicting the surge in poorly planned housing developments for Mexicans in Ixtapaluca, on the eastern edge of Mexico City.

Finally, ‘Nadie recuerda todo / No one remembers everything’ by Sector Reforma, a collective formed by the visual artists Javier Cárdenas Tavizon, Santino Escatel y Alejandro Fournier, in the city of Guadalajara, was given an honorable mention.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City