Photographs taken between 30 March and 5 April 2020 during the state of alert declared on 14 March by the Government of Spain in response to the spread of the COVID-19.
This format was chosen as it was the only way to see us. In the photographs I am holding my mobile phone in my hand with a glove on, one of the protective measures recommended by the health authorities. I call friends and family and ask them to show me the room where they are in quarantine, to show me their window from the inside and what they see from the street, any activities they do to pass the time. I also take a photograph of each person I call, either alone or with their roommates during those days. It is a record of how I am experiencing the confinement and how those "around me" are experiencing it. In doing so, I achieve a wide variety of scenarios and ways of experiencing this state of alarm.
2020
Special thanks to: Adoración, Alonso, Amanda, Ana, Ana, Ángel, Blanca, Carlos, Cecilia, Cristóbal, Cristina, Cristina, Cristina, Daniel, Daniel, Elisa, Eva, Fernando, Fernando, Fernando, Fernando, Inés, Isabel, Alicia, Joaquín, Jorge, Lucía, Luisa, Manuel, Mar, María Jesús, María Josefa, María, Marina, Nadia, Pablo, Pablo, Paula, Paula, Salvador, Valentina y Virginia.
The idea is for these photographs to form a photobook. The format chosen is horizontal, quite elongated. This effect is accentuated when viewed in sheets. In this way, it emphasises how long this period is becoming and fits in with the internal structure I have decided on. The cover, spine and back cover are dominated by simplicity and air. Simulating the emptiness we feel without social relations.
As for the layout, I have chosen to separate the photographs by theme: portrait,
a corner of their place of confinement, activities they are doing, windows and views from that window. In this way, privacy is given to the people taking part and it is clearer to see how different the spaces and, ultimately, the photographs can be within the same theme, as well as the human curiosity of "who is doing what and where".
There is an abundance of white space to reinforce this idea of social distancing. The photographs begin to be arranged at the edges of the page spreads. With each theme, the distance is reduced, and the photographs are progressively brought closer to the junction of the pages of the book. With this I wanted to represent the different phases of de-escalation until the return to the "new normal".
