eyephoneography #2: exhibit + on and off-line discussion series

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After the first edition of eyephoneography, we are thrilled to announce that eyephoneography #2 will take place in Madrid from April 15th to May 29th, 2011.

The work of Matt Burrows, ©arlein, Stefano Giogli and Jordi V. Pou will be featured in this second edition and will inspire off- and on-line debates culminating in an in-person series of talks during the opening weekend.

The goals ofeyephoneography are to link the digital world back to the physical one and to support mobile photography by offering various interaction opportunities for photographers and their audiences and by promoting its artistic and social potential. In this context, eyephoneography #2 will have two components: on the one hand, an exhibit featuring the work of four international mobile photographers, and on the other hand, a series of talks and discussions about fields related to mobile photography, namely photography and the arts, communication and technology, and social action.

The show will take place at the Sala EFTI, one of the two galleries of Spain’s leading photography school, EFTI, and it will include the work of four creators who have chosen mobile photography to convey their message in stunning ways.

The work of Carlein van der Beek (aka ©arlein) offers one of the most intriguing insights into the female world, doing so without stridency. Quietly and elegantly, she appropriates the power of technology to transfer her mixed media pictorial vision into mobile photography images. A native from The Netherlands, she delights us with her vision of a contemporary personal universe that reflects her background in abstract painting and photography.

"Spring" by Carlein van der Beek ©

When Michigan-based Matt Burrows’ eye lies on mundane objects they acquire a new life. The arrival of a smartphone into his life brought a rediscovery of photography and, inspired by William Eggleston’s work, he began to capture colorful compositions. Saturation, exaggeration, unique viewpoints, bizarre connections among objects, and the absence of human beings contribute to assigning unexpected meaning to familiar scenes and everyday objects.

"Have A Seat" by Matt Burrows ©

The borders between the external and the interior worlds seem to melt in Stefano Giogli’s images. Italy’s Umbria region offers the perfect setting for Giogli’s scenes, which transform acts, objects, and people from his everyday routine into beautifully constructed photographs. The images included in the show belong to the “Instant notes” project whereby the photographer appropriates his smartphone as a visual notebook. The technical dimension of photography is brought forward, exaggerated via the use of the Hipstamatic app that is, nevertheless, wisely used so as to avoid repetition or common places.

"Instant Notes #4" by Stefano Giogli ©

The world in Kokovoko looks black and white, smart and mysterious. This body of work by Jordi V. Pou takes its name after the island from Melville’s Moby Dick that does not appear in any maps. For Pou, it symbolizes a reverse travel from faraway places to familiar settings that are reinvented with every new shot. The act of observing and being observed becomes crucial in Pou’s work. His viewpoint offers viewers an unexpected position that catches them off guard, turning them into accomplices of the scene under development.

"The Shadows" by Jordi V. Pou ©

The presentation of this wonderful body of work could not have been possible without the disinterested commitment of our eight selection committee members. We will present each of them personally in upcoming posts but the first post about eyephoneography #2 would not be complete without mentioning, at least, their names:

·  Jose Luis Amores García, director, EFTI photography school (Spain)
·  Ana Bolívar, photographer and photography curator (Spain)
·  Michel Bricteux, photographer and diplomat (Belgium)
·  Isabelle MissPixels Gagné, mobile photographer and graphic designer (Canada)
·  Attilio Lauria, Arteaparte president, Dac Fiaf teacher, and organizer of the i.phoneography contest (Italy)
·  Darren Milligan, digital media projects director at the Smithsonian Institution SCEMS (USA)
·  Glòria Picazo, director, La Panera Art Center (Spain)
·  Marty Yawnick, mobile photographer, graphic designer and blogger (lifeinlofi.com) (USA)

The selection process for the eyephoneography #2 exhibition was conducted by the project organizer, Rocío Nogales, and its creative director, Marco La Civita, in collaboration with the aforementioned selection committee.

The first round included the selection of photographers. The selection committee members were asked to suggest mobile photographers whose body of work and vision they admired. We then shortlisted the names suggested and asked the committee to cast a vote. The top three photographers in the shortlist were invited and all three accepted. The fourth photographer, Jordi V. Pou, was directly invited by us.

The second step involved to the selection of images. For this, the four photographers were invited to submit 20 images each that were evaluated from the committee to arrive to the final selection.

Ten images of each photographer will be exhibited for a total of 40 images. Limited editions of the images autographed by the authors will be for sale during the entire exhibit to support both the photographers and the project. In addition, a catalog including the 40 exhibited images as well as contributions by mobile photographers and eyephoneography #2 selection-committee members will also be for sale.

Considering recent developments in the mobile photography community and the goals of eyephoneography, we will be organizing a complementary series of talks and debates structured around three axes pertaining to mobile photography: creation and circulation; institutionalization and conceptualization; and its social dimension and contribution. These will begin several days before the opening weekend and will have an on-line and off-line component. Participation in both the on-line discussion leading to the in-person talk series to be held during the opening weekend will be open to anybody interested in contributing to this exercise of collective reflection.

Regarding the place, we are thrilled to collaborate with EFTI. This pioneering Spanish photography school was founded in 1987 and it now counts with over 2,500 square meters (27.000 square feet) devoted exclusively to photography. Its goal is to create a living environment where teaching, training, exhibiting and activities related to photography can take place.

The launch of eyephoneography #2 will take place on Friday, April 15th at 8:00 pm. Both access to the opening event and the in-person talk series are free, although reservation for the second is encouraged given the limited seating capacity of the auditorium.

During the next weeks, we will publish all the additional information about the talk series, interviews to the photographers and members of the selection committee, as well as other relevant information.

Web and Flickr pages of the photographers included in eyephoneography #2:

Matt Burrows: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mattburrows
©arlein: http://www.flickr.com/photos/carlein/
Stefano Giogli: www.stefanogiogli.it
Jordi V. Pou: kokovoko.info

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