Located in the region of Macaronesia, a group of archipelagos situated in northwest coast of the African continent, the Canary Islands belong to Spain and as is natural, implicitly they concern to the European Union.
They are one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. This archipelago is perceived in the collective imagination as a tropical retreat, with a mild climate, exuberant nature, and like an easy and comfortable way of life. For historical reasons they have a complex cultural miscegenation that combines Latin American, African and European influences. The tourism sector is the main driver of its economy and for this reason most of the public policies are aimed at promoting this activity and its promotion as a holiday destination, both locally, nationally and internationally.
I am born and raised on these islands. After many years living abroad, in the European continent, I returned to the islands and established my residence in San Juan, a popular neighbourhood of the capital in Gran Canaria island.
This is a central district and also a very characteristic neighbourhood, such a part of the so-called “riscos" (cliffs) areas that receive this qualification for being built in the high areas surrounding the historical center of Vegueta. Due to the funny and colourful panorama that they make up, the "riscos" appear frequently in the guides, postcards and promotional posters of the city, but they are never considered on the recommended tourist routes. Fact that surprises because from its privileged location from where you can enjoy unbeatable views of the port and the entire east coast. They become like this for the tourist, in a multicoloured and picturesque backdrop reflecting the Arcadian and paradisiacal fiction with which the Canaries are identified.
By night, The darkness and urban lighting transform this chaotic agglomeration of colorful houses into an elegant and even idyllic night image. However, an inner journey through it’s silent passages and alleys, reveal that nocturnality, far from masking the reasons, why the visitor is advised only for distant contemplation, reveals strongly the uncomfortable reality that is trying to hide.
During these last years I’ve been documenting photographically the alleys and also urban furniture elements of San Juan and San José quarters in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Once the frames have been obtained, I subject images to two artistic processes. The first step is to transform the document into an urban landscape by applying conventions in which the syntax of the image and digital retouching are played. As a later stage, these same images, sujebted to a second process of artistification they are copied on fragments of watercolor paper that has been emulsified manually and chemically processed. Later are rebuilt in the form of collages, from this photographic reproducibility disappears in favor of the revaluation of each image as a unique and original artwork. From the place to the landscape and from the landscape to the work of art.
With this project I try to reflect on the processes of aesthetization that tourist propaganda uses, how they are involved in the perception of the territory and this, at a time in the collective identity of their inhabitants. Through mixed processes and alternative photographic materials, the photographic document becomes an aesthetic object, turning a disadvantaged territory into a landscape.
