Umesh Graña, Alba Jiménez and Sofía Taboada are the three Galician artists exhibiting in the new edition of the Marta Ortega Foundation in A Coruña. “It is a privilege,” say the colleagues who have been showing their works since yesterday inside the Battery Dock Silo. And less than a year ago they were graduating in Fine Arts and Design in Photography and today they can say with a big mouth that their projects are hanging in the MOP Foundation, the same one that a few months ago showed renowned artists such as Helmut Newton.
For three months, these students attended Milan still academic fashion photography program funded by the MOP Foundation and designed by Fondazione Sozzani. At the academy they developed two artistic projects guided by tutors that are exhibited for the first time in this exhibition.
“These scholarships came out almost at the same time we were graduating. Having this opportunity to go to Milan to do a super complete training in fashion photography was a huge leap,” he says. Sofia Taboada. “It’s a dream come true. I would never have expected something like this. At the academic level it was crazy and amazing, and I hope it was the beginning of something,” he says. Alba Jimenez.
During their three-month fellowship they trained in fashion photography, but they also learned about other programs and touched on other editorial aspects, such as “making a photobook.” In the city of culture they were also able to visit numerous museums and take references that assure that they marked a before and after in their career.
Umesh Graña: Mixed Feelings
The young man Umesh Graña, from Santiago de Compostela, presents his work Mixed Feelings, in which it represents the contact of human beings with nature. “Found, mixed feelings. What I try is to represent different sensations, feelings, moods that both humans and plants experience“explains the young man.
“I have tried to put my effort into expressing that of the roots through the central image, since the fundamental connection that plants and humans have symbolizes our common originthe way of growing, feeling and adapting to the environment that surrounds us,” adds the photographer.
Sofia Taboada: It’s a quiet starry place
Sofía Taboada shows It’s a quiet starry place, where he shows a metaphor for the “lack of something.” “It’s about a project about absence, about loss. I wanted to approach it as poetic, very black and white, but at the same time with very contrasting photos: A little dark. It is a very personal project“explains the young woman from Ourense.
The three artists agree that photography reflects their identity. “This project was very easy for me to do because I feel that when I have a story to tell, everything is easier“reveals the artist.
Alba Jiménez:”glossy
At his side he exposes Alba Jiménez, who starts with glossy, where he does photographic work playing with light and reflection. “At first it started as a personal exercise, like trying to take photographs during all the months we were in Milan and collecting them. We realized that they all had in common reflections, sparkles and lights. In the research we found a study that explained that human beings are attracted to shine and reflections due to a need for water, and I thought it was something super beautiful,” he says.
The young woman was born in Poio (Pontevedra), in a fishing town, so the idea caught his attention. “The images of water are above all of the canals of Venice. It was about that need that my body was asking for,” he confesses.
The exhibition
The exhibition will remain open until July 31 in schedule Monday to Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Fridays from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
As a novelty this year, during the month of July, the first edition of the MOP talksa series of meetings open to the public with relevant personalities of contemporary culture and creation.
The MOP Talks will be held on July 15, with Milena Busquets; the 22nd with Nick Knight; and on the 29th with David Chipperfield. The schedule will be announced soon, as well as the ticket reservation system (which will be free).
