Beware, O Wanderer, the road is walking, too.
-Rainer Maria Rilke
El Camino de Santiago dates back to the 12th century as is said to be one of three Christian pilgrimages in which an indulgence is granted. People would set out on foot, beginning at their doorstep hoping to be redeemed of all sins upon arrival to Saint James’ tomb. I photographed and walked the 800-kilometer pilgrimage from Roncesvalles to Santiago de Compostela, Spain with my cousin Carlos during the summer months of 2008.
We create legends and myths, we appropriate past stories, we make art that is representative of the real yet lies within the imaginary; we are the vehicle of an artifice that is implicitly ingrained in all forms of art, including that of photography. This body of work, Ultreia, meaning ‘to go beyond’, is inspired by the Deleuzian idea that every image is an utterance whereupon we build narratives based on what is apparent and what is hidden. Our perceptions give the image its own path, which in turn is reflected back upon us as a falsification of our past, reading a present that was never ours. It is here that we blend fact and fiction, object and representation, landscape and memory. I see this body of work as a geometry of utterances. There is no one direct path, there is only the road, which will continue to extend for you, as long as you keep walking.
El Camino se empieza cuando el Camino se acaba.
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Documentation of "Ultreia" Exhibit in Amherst, MA
Photographs for Brianne Milder's Division III performance.
Hampshire College
Havana, Cuba
Mexico City/Teotihuacán, Mexico
Jerusalem, Israel
Chilbe Fair. Thalwil, Switzerland
