Opening spaces
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| Maria Jauregui Ponte © Maria Jauregui Ponte |
Maria Jauregui, a self-taught photographer born in Euskadi but living in Berlin since 1996, where she has developed her artistic career and has been trained after years of previous experience, seeks in photography the way to different forms of expression. In a way, her art serves both to discover and to create spaces. She moves closer to widen the gaze, opening the field of vision from the detail. One recalls the Buddhist maxim according to which the whole is contained in the part as well as the part in the whole, or, in its Christian version, we are all children of God and we carry God within.
How did you start in photography?
I started photography as a self-taught photographer. When I was in
school, my mother's husband gave me an SLR camera and showed me how to
develop film and enlarge a photo. He set up a darkroom at home in a
small bathroom in the attic, with an enlarger and four small trays for
chemistry and water. That's where I did my first tries. Later, my desire
to take photographs crystallised more and more. In Berlin, I was able
to work as an intern and assistant for a photographer for several years,
got my first assignments, took photography courses at an adult
education centre and worked more and more on my own projects. It wasn't
until 2008 that I had the opportunity to study at the Neue Schule für
Fotografie Berlin.
What does the Natural appearance exhibition represent to you?
The exhibition at Galerie Springer is a joint exhibition with Aitor
Ortiz: my contribution is the work "Wo Fuchs und Hase" (“Where Fox and
Hare”), on which I worked for three years. The series reflects my great
interest and fascination for wildlife: I took the pictures in a garden
in a small village in Mecklenburg, an environment that we would
associate with "nature" from the perspective of a big city. In fact,
however, the area surrounding the village is dominated by industrial
agriculture, which increasingly reduces the habitat of the wildlife.
During the day, the animals are barely visible, only traces of their
activities testify their presence - as soon as it gets dark, the animals
seem to reconquer their space and enter the nocturnal stage as if in a
theatre.
Your works featured in the exhibition have a ghostly appearance, a look we are not used to. Why such an approach to nature?
For the animal pictures in the series "Where Fox and Hare" I used a game
camera that works with infrared light - when an animal comes within the
camera's radius, it triggers. Then I transfer still images from the
camera trap onto Polaroid material. This technical approach gives the
works something ghostly, which may also express the invisible presence
of the animals.
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| Maria Jauregui Ponte o.T./Reh 15, aus der Serie Wo Fuchs und Hase, 2018-2021 © Maria Jauregui Ponte courtesy Galerie Springer Berlin |
In a way, there is something aggressive in the photographs you present, don't you think?
I am always surprised at the variety of ways the animals show themselves
in front of the camera: Sometimes they seem to pose very confidently
for a "selfie", other animals continue their nocturnal activities
completely unimpressed and go their way. Sometimes I also observe a
certain comicality, as if
the animals were playing with the camera. There is certainly a
fairy-tale atmosphere in the work that carries something ghostly in it -
but for me this never has a threatening aftertaste, rather something
loving, tender and fragile. In this respect, I honestly can't recognise
anything aggressive in the pictures. Maybe you can tell me what you find
aggressive about it?
Because one could easily think that darkness is sought to hide, so that the camera shows what one wants to hide, although perhaps this is a very urban reflection. We live in fact in a very urban part of the world. Do you think urban life reduces our ability to feel and understand nature?
Certainly, in the big
city, direct contact with nature is lost - it seems more and more alien
and uncanny to us. At the same time, society is probably also losing a
lot of knowledge about connections in nature. On the other hand, there
is also a countermovement: Many city people are actually looking for
contact with nature and are particularly committed to its
preservation.Even in big cities, nature can be experienced and felt, and
even if in small precious portions: Here in Berlin, for example, there
are many wild animals that have created a habitat for themselves in the
middle of the city. The food supply near people is abundant, and there
are a lot of retreats in parks, cemeteries or unused areas.
I have
read that one of your past exhibitions was titled Let's meet on a cloud of freedom. You were not thinking of social networks, were
you?
The exhibition "Let's meet on a cloud of freedom" was part of a
project by Caterina De Pietri. It was triggered by her desire to counter
the pandemic lockdown with something unifying. So she invited numerous
artists to contribute pictures to the project title. In her call for
entries, Caterina described the cloud as something international that
has no regard for national borders. At the same time, clouds, in their
impermanence and transience contain for Caterinaa visual experience that
accompanies us virtually all the time. I have submittedfor the
exhibition an abstract Polaroid from a small series that I have been
working on over the last few years in parallel with cameraless
exposures.
How do you currently see the capacity of art as a vehicle
for freedom?
In relation to my work, I realise how much I value the
medium of photography, as it offers me unimagined freedom to express
myself. Art shows us other perspectives and opens up new spaces where
everything is possible and we can act freely.
Your contribution to Natural Appearance makes me think of the
dichotomy instinct and intellect, and how the shadow of the primary is
truly elongated. And in times of crisis, it comes out of its shadow. And
in times of crisis it comes out of its shadow. What is the appearance
of the current times for you?
It is certainly obvious that we are living
in a time full of crises and challenges. Just two examples that come to
mind first. We don't know how the pandemic will develop. Have we already
overcome it as faras we hope? The consequences of climate change are
becoming more and more noticeable: Here in Germany, no one could have
imagined until recently that a flood catastrophe triggered by heavy rain
could kill so many people and destroy entire villages. Nevertheless,
as a person of faith, I look at the world with hope, even if the way
people treat each other sometimes makes me despair. Especially in times
of crisis, however, the "good" in people shows itself again and again -
fortunately, we were able to observe an unimaginable willingness to help
and solidarity among people during the events mentioned as examples.
And what are your current projects? Where is your photography going?
I
usually work on several projects in parallel: my interest in the theme
of my current exhibition remains still strong - as well does the
continuation of my experimental approaches with camera-less photography.
In the coming year, I will present a joint project with my colleague
Marc Volk that we developed last year: We wanted to enter into a kind of
photographic dialogue and sent each other pictures from our archives
and responded to them. We have placed the result under the title “Was
sonst noch Geschah” ("What else happened"). I am very much looking
forward to the exhibition and am curious about thereception.
Could
you explain us a dream you had while sleeping?
In fact, I dream a lot and
find it incredibly exciting what our brain comes up with when our body
is at rest. As far as I can remember, there are many experiences,
sometimes wonderful, bizarre, sometimes scaryas well, naturally most of
it is very personal and private.
An interview by Juan Carlos Romero
For further information about Maria Jauregui Ponte www.mariajaureguiponte.de
Photographs courtesy of the artist
All rights reserved