The Fondation MAPFRE is holding a retrospective of the work of British photographer Vanessa Winship from May 30th to August 31st. The exhibition is being presented in the foundation’s new space dedicated to strengthening its engagement in the dissemination of photography in Spain and around the world. Organized by Carlos Martín García, the show offers visitors a complete overview of Winship’s work, with a large selection of photographs from throughout her career, beginning with her early work in the Balkans and ending with her latest series shot this year in Almería.
Born in 1960 in Barton-upon-Humber, UK, Winship trained at the Polytechnic of Central London in the 1980s, a time when postmodern thought had taken over photography and cultural studies. Winship is an artist whose work has only recently come to the fore. In 2011, she was the first woman to win the prestigious Prix Henri Cartier-Bresson.
Winship has lived and worked in the Balkans, Turkey and the Caucuses for over a decade. Her work focuses on the intersection of news and fiction. While exploring concepts of borders, territory, memory and desire, Winship seeks to understand how history and identities are expressed.
The Winship retrospective features 188 photographs from throughout her career. From 1999 to 2003, Winship traveled through Albania, Serbia, Kosovo and Athens for the series Imagined States and Desires: A Balkan Journey. This work marked a key step in the formation of her photographic vision and in her decision to break with the constraints of news photography and the traditional conception of the documentary photographer profession. In this series, most of the photographs focus on the tragedy of the exodus of Kosovar-Albanian refugees fleeing Serbia to neighboring countries. This is a collection of moments reflecting the volatility of borders, ethnicities and beliefs, and whose message demonstrates that territory is not the seat of identity, but rather the person who carries it within. The fragmentary nature of the series, condensed into various micro-stories, anticipated the evolution of her work.
Read the full article on the French version of L’Oeil.
EXHIBITION
Vanessa Winship
Until August 31st, 2014
Fundacion Mapfre
Sala de exposiciones Barbara de Braganza
c/ Barbara de Braganza 13
Madrid
Spain
