Reportage
Todd Antony
Amount of Images: 10
about the artwork
'Climbing Cholitas', the Aymara indigenous women who are breaking stereotypes
The women depicted in this series by photographer Todd Antony are the ‘Climbing Cholitas’ or ‘Cholitas Escaladoras Bolivianas’ – a group of Aymara indigenous women who are breaking stereotypes and shifting perceptions.
In January 2019, they summited the 22,841ft peak of Mt Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside of Asia. And did so eschewing traditional climbing clothing in favour of their traditional, vibrant, billowing dresses, and using their traditional shawls to carry equipment rather than backpacks. The word 'Cholita' has previously been used as a pejorative term for the indigenous Aymara women of Bolivia. But these women are reclaiming it as a badge of honour.
"In the very recent past, as little as 10 years ago, Bolivia’s indigenous Aymara women were socially ostracised and systematically marginalised," explains Todd. "Known as 'Cholitas', these women, easily identified by their wide skirts, braided hair and bowler hats, suffered racial discrimination and could be refused entry to certain restaurants, using public transport and entering certain public spaces such as the capitals central square, Plaza Murillo.
"While they have been advocating for their rights since at least the 1960s, their movement was further invigorated by the 2005 election of Evo Morales," he continues. "Bolivia’s first Amerindian president. Since then the majority indigenous population have seen greater recognition and autonomy."
Making Pictures
Amount of Images: 11
about the artwork
Paul Calver continues to document his family in his ongoing personal series.
dougie wallace
Amount of Images: 12
about the artwork
'EASTENDED' REFLECTS ON GENTRIFICATION AND HOW THIS PROCESS TRIGGERS AN AMBIGUOUS AND OFTEN FRAUGHT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FREELY EXPRESSED STREET ART AND COMMERCE, PUBLIC SPACE AND BILLBOARD, LOCAL COMMUNITY AND GLOBAL CAPITAL. THE TRANSFORMATION OF LONDON’S EAST END FROM URBAN DECAY TO FASHIONABLE IS THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF THE POWER OF STREET ART TO REGENERATE A NEIGHBOURHOOD TO MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE TO THE EMERGING CREATIVE CLASS. BEFORE IT BECAME A RECOGNISED ART FORM, STREET ART WAS CALLED GRAFFITI, A SIGN OF DECAY THAT LOWERED PROPERTY VALUES. FAST FORWARD TO THE TRANSFORMATION OF LONDON’S EAST END AND IT BECAME COOL. SEEN AS ‘GRITY’ AND ‘EDGY’, STREET ART GENERATES INTEREST IN AN AREA. REFASHIONED, AND MADE ACCEPTABLE, IT TRANSFORMS PUBLIC SPACE AS AREAS BECOME HIGH-PRICED, TRENDY AND DESIRABLE. ITS ‘EDGE’ AND SENSE OF ‘AUTHENTICITY’ BECOME A MEANS TO SPEED UP THE GENTRIFICATION PROCESS. BUT AS PROPERTY PRICES RISE, THE COST OF LIVING FORCES OUT BOTH THOSE ARTISTS, WHO CREATED THE ART, AS WELL AS THE LOCAL RESIDENTS, WHO CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO LIVE THERE. NEVER WAS THIS TRUER THAN IN SHOREDITCH, WHERE THESE IMAGES WERE SHOT– BRICK LANE, REDCHURCH STREET AND SCALTER STREET – AN OPEN-AIR CASE OF URBAN ART, GENERATING CONSIDERABLE TOURISM. ONCE CONSIDERED AS SPRAY-PAINTED VANDALISM, GRAFFITI NOW APPEARS IN GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS WORLDWIDE. ARTISTS, WHO WERE HOODED, HIDDEN AND NOCTURNAL, ARE OUT IN THE OPEN, PRODUCING THEIR WORK IN BROAD DAYLIGHT FROM CHERRY-PICKER PLATFORMS. COMMISSIONED BY CORPORATE BRANDS, SUCH AS ADIDAS AND GUCCI, THEY OFFER CREATIVE INTERVENTIONS INTO THE URBAN LANDSCAPE, IMAGES OF COOLNESS AND AFFLUENCE – MURALS DESTINED TO BECOME INSTRAGRAMMABLE PROPAGANDA. YOU SEE EVERY CODE OF COOL FASHION AND ATTITUDE, ALONGSIDE SCENES OF POVERTY AND PEOPLE TRADING ON THE STREETS IN ANYTHING BUT THE COOL. GENTRIFICATION HAS BROUGHT NUMBING SAMENESS, YET LOOK CAREFULLY AND YOU’LL SPOT THE CHEEKY PROTEST POSTERS – POLITICAL CRITIQUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE REBELLION – PURPOSEFULLY PLASTERED OVER AND DEFACING THE ADS, AS IF THE VOICE OF THE STREETS IS RECLAIMING ITS WALLS. WHILE THIS MAY SOUND LIKE A FAMILIAR TUNE OF THE CYCLIC PROCESS OF PROPERTY DECLINE AND REBIRTH, WHAT MAKES THIS PROJECT TIMELY IS THE BACKDROP OF THE UK HOUSING CRISIS, WHICH HAS REACHED A CRITICAL POINT. IN A SUBTLE NOD, GLOSSY REPRESENTATIONS OF AFFLUENCE ARE UNDERCOATED WITH HUMAN STORIES, THUS GIVING VOICE TO THE UNHEARD: THE FORGOTTEN LOCAL RESIDENTS, ON THE ONE HAND, AND THE EMERGING GRASSROOTS RESISTANCE, ON THE OTHER. EACH DETAIL PERCEPTIVELY CAPTURED BY THE CAMERA CAN BE INTERPRETED BOTH AS AN ART FORM AND A CALL TO ARMS.
NARÈNTE // Lucio Aru + Franco Erre
Amount of Images: 12
about the artwork
SANT'EFISIO, Cagliari
The festival of Sant’Efisio in Cagliari. The historic city of Cagliari, the capital of Sardinia, is home of the Festival of Sant’Efisio (Sagra di Sant’Efisio). This traditional festival is celebrated each year from 1st to 4th May and has deep historical roots, and celebrates the saint to whom the people of Cagliari turned after a devastating plague in 1652.
Tom Senn
Amount of Images: 12
about the artwork
Rallye Monte Carlo Historique, TT Races Isle of Man and the Goodwood Festival of Speed are three historic events that in 2019 attracted hundreds of thousands of motorsport enthusiasts to their traditional venues. Perhaps for the very last time. Here we see Tom's report of the famous TT Races on the Isle of Man, published in 2019 in the German Rally Magazine. Politically correct without motorcycles. ;-) Photographed by Tom Senn with Leica M and Leica Q.
Leopold Fiala
Amount of Images: 12
about the artwork
I had the opportunity to shoot the 2019 winter campaign for the German TV station ZDF, alongside the TVC crew. All images shot with available light in Slovenia. Production: Czar Local producion: Comradfilm Client: ZDF & WDR
