One series of photos seemingly celebrates normality with several almost identical houses shot entirely from the front, all right angles and straight lines. The initial impression is one of mundane normality. But a closer look reveals differences between the photos and the symmetry takes on a deeper meaning. There is something compelling about these photos and their implications of society's repression of individuality.
Then there is the photography of Alejandro Olivares, whose subject is life in one of Santiago's poorest barrios, and an aspect of Chilean society that is alien to the vast majority of visitor´s to the MAC. Young men hold guns to the heads of puppies while painted murals celebrate the lives of their dead friends and pregnant women smoke crack. It appears a brutal world to outsiders but there is a sense of camaraderie in the photos, of togetherness, as if being neglected and forgotten by the outside world and the government strengthens the bonds of the inhabitants of the barrio.
These are just a couple of examples that stick in my mind after I went to the exhibition this afternoon in the near-deserted MAC. It was very interesting and showed me aspects of Chile with which I have yet to grow familiar. There is a good review of the exhibition here from one of my fellow writers at Revolver. I think her interpretations of the photos and their contexts are very precise:
http://www.santiagomagazine.cl/exhibits/00764-young-chilean-photographers-new-generation-takes-over-mac
If you´re in Santiago, get down to MAC before the 26th June. I feel like I learnt a little more about the country there today.
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