South.Southwest | group exhibition

In Berlin, a city home to people from about 190 nations, Latin American photography has been given a room of its own. The re|space gallery presents South.Southwest, a collection making its first public showing anywhere in the world, exclusively there, curated by Irakli Megre and Isabelle Thul.

What visitors see is a landscape as diverse as the people who inhabit it. Culture, nature, folklore and everyday life move from wall to wall, at times atmospheric, at times poetic, at times biographical. The selection brings together work by Sebastián Liste, Cristina de Middel, Álvaro Ybarra Zavala, Laura León, Jesús Rocandio, Adriana Zehbrauskas, Stephen Ferry, Tomás Munita and Emilia Brandão. They are photographers under the patronage of Leica Iberia, with careers spanning agencies such as Magnum and Getty Images, works held in collections such as that of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, and publications in outlets such as Time.

Although part of the images stems from documentary projects, the selection was guided by artistic value. The difference lies in the approach: it is not only the subject that calls for a fine art context, but also the style and composition. Many pieces, large in scale, mounted and framed, demand from the viewer the kind of attention given to a history painting. The smaller diptychs, in turn, echo the display modes typical of national galleries. In the same space, carefully composed, almost cinematic scenes sit alongside raw, vibrant records of intimacy and celebration. The images at times complement and at times contradict one another, and from that interplay emerges a nuanced portrait of a global community. Each work is a chapter in the same visual narrative.

There is one more detail that makes the collection unique: each work is a single-edition print, with provenance guaranteed by a four-part identification process involving certification by Leica, the photographer, the gallery and the buyer. Whoever acquires a piece gains exclusive rights to it and, at the same time, becomes part of the conservation and future of an ever-growing collection. The works are sold directly by the artists, and sales help fund South.Southwest’s future projects.

The choice of Berlin has a clear purpose: to bring contemporary Latin American photography to a wider audience and encourage cultural exchange between Latin America and the rest of the world. Here, art and photography enthusiasts from many backgrounds can see the works first-hand. The selected works share a deep connection to Latin American life and, as the collection keeps growing, each one becomes part of its legacy.

Curators: Irakli Megre and Isabelle Thul
re|space gallery
Berlin/Germany
Oct.2020
Artists: Sebastián Liste – Cristina de Middel – Álvaro Ybarra Zavala – Laura León – Jesús Rocandio – Adriana Zehbrauskas – Stephen Ferry – Tomás Munita – Emilia Brandão