El valor del suelo [The Value of Soil]

36 triptychs | 90,5x58 cm. | Direct print on Fórex and PVC canvas | Edition of 2 +2P.A. | 2005 A photographic project that investigates the real-estate market associated with tourism, specifically low density developments, second residences and building as investment. These phenomena reflect the proliferation of low-density urbanisations in medium-sized populations, as much in coastal areas as in rural ones, evidence of the boom that the construction sector is experiencing and of those which are the cause of part of the present problems surrounding access to housing. The series aims to highlight the complexity of the market, the range of intervening factors, and the relationships that are established between them, trying to generate a reflection on this problem without establishing a judgement a priori. The photographs – direct and in no way contrived – try to be sincere and objective so that each triptych becomes charged with content as relationships are established between the three images: the aesthetics and sales strategies of the real-estate agents with the type of client, stereotyped, and the sales promotion, standardised. The systematic repetition of this outline with different social types shows the extent of the phenomenon. In this way, the project aims to show the coldness with which these operations are carried out and provoke a reflection on matters such as the indiscriminate construction of housing and the leisure consumption associated with investment and debt. The technique used – direct printing onto Forex or PVC canvas – appropriate the language and aesthetics used by real estate agencies in their sales strategies.