'Quisiera tener mis tierras propia', Juripucio, Jujuy, Argentina
Artist name
Artist year born
1968
Artwork title translation
'I would like to have my own land', Juripucio, Jujuy, Argentina
Artwork material
silver gelatin
photographic print
photographic print
Artwork dimensions
height: 39cm
width: 50cm
width: 50cm
Artwork type (categories)
Photograph
Accession method
Donated by Martín Weber 2004
Accession number
5-2004
Label text
This photograph is part of the ongoing series of works by Martin Weber, A Map of Latin American Dreams, exhibited at The Photographers Gallery in London and the Art Exchange, University of Essex in Colchester in 2004. In this work Weber photographs a campesino (farmer) woman and her children in rural Argentina, holding up a small chalkboard on which she has written one of her greatest wishes: 'quisiera tener mis tierras propia/ I wish to have my own lands'. This photograph, like most of Weber's works, dramatizes simple truths of poverty, while highlighting the beauty and dignity of the inhabitants of the lands through which he has travelled. Here he stages the woman and her children in the central frontal plane of the picture. She wears her normal Andean woven skirt and looking directly into the camera, while her children look away in a distracted mode. Only the older boy's expression of sadness reflects the mother's own sentiments.
Weber's belief that 'dreams are real, they exist' comes from his work photographing individuals throughout Latin America. In this series, he makes 'his own map of Latin America, not of geographic boundaries or variations of terrain, but of the fragile landscape in which everyday reality lives together with secrets and dreams, reflecting on personal historical contexts'. In the photographs 'the subjects assumed an active role in their portrayals by choosing what to reveal'. In this way, Weber is an intermediary between his subjects - in this case the woman and her children - and the viewer. His photography has an immediacy and intimacy; Weber's active manipulation of his subjects gives the viewer access to a personal secret.
Reference
Hesse, Gary.' Martin Weber: A Map of Latin American Dreams', Contact Sheet, New York, 2004
Maya Luna
Weber's belief that 'dreams are real, they exist' comes from his work photographing individuals throughout Latin America. In this series, he makes 'his own map of Latin America, not of geographic boundaries or variations of terrain, but of the fragile landscape in which everyday reality lives together with secrets and dreams, reflecting on personal historical contexts'. In the photographs 'the subjects assumed an active role in their portrayals by choosing what to reveal'. In this way, Weber is an intermediary between his subjects - in this case the woman and her children - and the viewer. His photography has an immediacy and intimacy; Weber's active manipulation of his subjects gives the viewer access to a personal secret.
Reference
Hesse, Gary.' Martin Weber: A Map of Latin American Dreams', Contact Sheet, New York, 2004
Maya Luna
Last updated date
2008