Reporting, being a community, deciding
Photographer Gloria Oyarzábal wins the third edition of the KBr Photo Award
Art
In 1970, Pier Paolo Pasolini, with his pseudo-documentary Appunti per un’Orestiade Africana, sought to transpose the Greek tragedy The Oresteia to the context of the young African nations following decolonization.
Inspired by this piece, photographer Gloria Oyarzábal, in her project Appunti per un’Orestiade africana_una democrazia in fatica II, reinterprets that perspective from the present, dismantling its paternalism and ethnocentric vision.
This project, selected unanimously by the judging panel for the 3rd edition of the KBr Photo Award, is an exercise in rewriting and (self-)questioning; an essay that challenges the idea of “democracy” as a universal concept and critically reviews the colonial legacy, highlighting the “fatigue” or failure of this model in certain contexts.
Aware of the danger of a single narrative, Gloria Oyarzábal has sought to construct a visual story in which memory, violence, women, postmodernity, and stereotypes are among the themes that allow her to investigate the legacies of colonialism and how these condition the construction of narratives around representation, identity, and power.
Born in London in 1971, Gloria Oyarzábal’s professional career has been marked by her relationship with the film industry, the years she spent living in Bamako (Mali), and the introspection evident in her work. The photographer conducts her research in countries such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Tanzania, as well as in European colonial institutions.
In addition to a cash prize of €25,000, the award includes the production and organization of an exhibition, which will be on display at the KBr Fundación MAPFRE center in Barcelona and at the Fundación MAPFRE headquarters in Madrid, showcasing the results of the project and the publication of a book.
Of the 430 projects received, the judging panel also shortlisted proposals by Juan Valbuena and Juan Brenner as finalists.
With this 3rd edition of the KBr Photo Award, we renew our commitment to photography as a tool for raising awareness and bringing about change, capable of showcasing different stories and perspectives.
Photography has the power to move and to transform: we can use it to encourage dialogue and reflection.