Suspended Cities (Portraits from the underground)

Suspended Cities (Portraits from the underground) “The guard is down and the mask is off, even more than when in lone bedrooms (where there are mirrors). People’s faces are in naked repose down in the subway.” Portraits, 35mm colour slides, from 12 different underground networks worldwide, (Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, Oslo, Napoli, New York, Mexico DF, Santiago de Chile, Tunisia, Delhi, Tokyo). Twelve that become one, represented by presence/absence, by suspension, by waiting. This work is reflected in and transcends the images shot by Walker Evans in the New York subways in the 40’s. It doesn’t make reference to any specific place but to distant and different cities which appear here as if closed in one single space. The faces, which express the suspension and the naked rest of the passengers that use this means of transport every day, become metaphors as much of human essence as its modern dimension. Like many “flaneur” the people transit, linger, wait and leave. Behind the reality of constant movement is the veil of constant suspension. “Arriving at each new city, the traveler finds again a past of his that he did not know he had: the foreignness of what you no longer are or no longer possess lies in wait for you in foreign, unpossessed places.” Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities PARIS-LONDON-ROMA-MADRID-OSLO-TUNIS-MEXICO DF-NEW YORK-SANTIAGO-DELHI-TOKYO Suspended cities is also a photobook by Crowdbooks.