Skip to main content

Oskar Alvarado – Where Fireflies Unfold

Stories 2022 Shortlist

Based in
Spain

Photographed in
Spain

Deleitosa is my village. It is located in the province of Cáceres, in the region of Extremadura in Spain. Here, my parents, grandparents, great grandparents and other ancestors were born, going back through centuries of family genealogy. Deleitosa was the village that Eugene Smith chose to realise his photographic essay “Spanish Village” that was published in the American magazine Life on April 9, 1951.

Far from showing the perceptible appearance of Deleitosa or some of the visual references linked to what was a photographic icon of the social and economic backwardness in Spanish rural society, my gaze has some subjective nuances linked to a series of experiences, places and personal memories. Reminiscences that have endured as apparitions in my memory. Images that intermingle episodes that float in the my imaginary with the new realities that coexist in the village.

There is an emotional need to reflect on the territory of which we are part. To explore our identity in the echo of the places that still speak to us, or in the absence-presence of the people and beings that inhabit them. To form a visual interpretation that evokes the mystery that manifests itself in everyday rhythms, in the poetic condition that underlies the strange.

Photo Collective

Photo collective represents photographers, advocates, educators and curators working towards the collective goal of celebrating and contributing to the changing ecology of Australian photography. We achieve this through award recognition, publications, exhibitions, community engagement initiatives and educational programs.

To add unlimited projects, unlock offers and resources, sign up to Member+

JOIN NOW