La Calle, Photographs from Mexico at Aperture Gallery

La Calle, Photographs from Mexico


Alex Webb
Aperture Gallery, NYC
Sep 8 – Oct 26
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In the poem “La Calle” by Octavio Paz, an elusive character wanders through the city streets, gets lost, and finds themselves again. Drawing inspiration from this work, Alex Webb’s street photographs of Mexico share the title, “La Calle”.
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Webb roams through the streets of Mexico and captures the nation between the years 1978 and 2007. He shows the vibrant and lively life of the Mexican streets, often during times of the country’s turbulent political and economic crises, while also displaying their capabilities of resistance and survival. Webb’s eye is for the tension between the order and chaos of life on the streets. His photographs are vibrantly colored translations of Mexico, and they frequently make use of bold shadows that register as additional forms throughout the image. The work’s formal properties of lively color and dark shadows help to support Webb’s idea of working with layers.
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As for the subjects within his work, Webb photographs to prove that, “multiple states, multiple situations, and multiple moments can coexist.” In his photographs, he works to capture numerous human interactions occurring all at once. For example in one photo, Webb frames a father carrying a young child, both of whom are silhouetted by a bright light that spotlights the center of the frame. Off to the side, a young couple, accented by a lightly colored shirt, embrace against a wall. Opposite the couple, a man exits the frame, covering his face with a red magazine.
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By constructing his photographs using the idea of layers, Alex Webb makes us aware of the noise of urban life that fills the streets he wanders through.
By Alexa Cushing