Fotonoviembre Biennial Opens with Bravo, Fleitas Exhibitions

The 18th Fotonoviembre International Photography Biennial, organized by TEA Tenerife Espacio de las Artes, kicks off today, Friday, at 7:00 p.m. in La Laguna. It's happening at the Art Room of the Canarias Cabrera Pinto Institute and features two exhibitions from the "Artists in Selection" category.

The featured exhibitions are "Mato Grosso" by Raquel Bravo (from Valladolid, born 1981) and "Endémico" by Daniel L. Fleitas (from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, born 1991). These two shows are part of the biennial's "Artists in Selection" section, which is curated by Dalia de la Rosa. Other artists in this section include Yun Ping Li, Almudena Lobera, and Laia Serra.

Entry to the exhibitions is free, and they will run until November 30 at the institute, which is managed by the Government of the Canary Islands. You can visit Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and again from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. On Saturdays and Sundays, the hours are 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Raquel Bravo's "Mato Grosso" is a project exploring "post-memory," sparked by finding her father, José María Bravo's, old photo collection. Looking through the photos, she realized his time in Brazil during the 1960s and 70s wasn't a research trip, as she'd always thought. Instead, he was there as a missionary priest, involved in evangelization – a common practice back then. This revelation challenged the memories she had built from family stories and items brought back from America, as the images told a different story.

Daniel L. Fleitas's "Endémico" is a photo series from 2020 that explores landscapes and how geography shapes people's identity. At the heart of this work, and central to the landscape, is the palm tree. But these aren't the typical beautiful, subtropical palms, nor the proud ones in cities, nor the lively ones scattered in nature. Instead, Fleitas focuses on palms that are tired, struggling, cut down, or overlooked – what he calls "beautiful hidden ruins."