Primal Grit, 2015 - 1/5

FACING SELF-PORTRAITS

'PRIMAL GRIT' is an instinctual, passionate connection urging to explore. This is the force driving my photographs, light fossils I gather at first hand. The result is an exhibit of what moves me throughout the faceted allure of the human condition. In fact, this entire website is a narration of how I live and what I learn during my photographic adventures; right then, right there, primal grit makes each photograph an authentic self-portrait.

When I am asked what do I photograph, usually expecting a category, my answer is: 'I photograph my nature while it interacts with the rest of reality.' In other words, I learn about my nature by documenting interactions as they happen. The challenge is to find clarity between the ego and the environment; I seek authentic self-portraits, not selfies.

In and out of the moment, facing the intimacy of self-portraits it's a grounding experience, one that actually offers shelter from the folly of narcissism. I took the first one in 2015, on instant film, right when I completed my book, and I placed it at the beginning of this webpage. The few that followed years later are also the outcome of focal moments of my life.

When I am asked why I do it and why I use film, I reply photography helps me to learn. For the same reason I do not trust oracles, I also do not trust computed images. Matrix of pixels are mutant by design and driven by unknown algorithms; then, I trust only visible light from life, silver halide crystals, and my eye to photograph my own life.