DEMOCRATIC PORTRAITS

15-M* Movement, also called The Indignants movement, were a series of ongoing peaceful demonstrations in Spain. (*Born on 15 May 2011). 

The origin was the economic crisis, unemployment, the political system and the failure of the capitalist and banking system, corruption…. It was inspired in the African protests but also in the greek or the Icelandic ones. And it  was followed afterwards by “Occupy Wall Street”. Stéphane Hessel's Time for Outrage! book gave the name to this social movement. 

Typically anti-system ideas emerged, spreading into the general public. For a while, there was a common feeling in  society: A feeling to belong to the same thing and fight against the same monster. 

THE PHOTO PROJECT

The streets and plazas of 59 cities of Spain got occupied and claimed for the people. They were claiming “real democracy” among other things. 

Those portraits were taken in SOL, an occupied square in the center of Madrid. I settled my portable photo studio there. The idea was to occupy the streets also with art. The background is a hand painted sepia sack-cloth that alludes to the images of the old revolutions. The collection brings together a total 400 portraits.

The atmosphere over there was triumphal and full of optimism, thing that is reflected in the portraits. The portraits want to give voice and power to the people, absolute protagonist of the event.