Mara Sánchez-Renero

“Iluikak” (2016-18), developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18), developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18), developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

“Iluikak” (2016-18) most recent oeuvre of the photographer and solo show in ALMANAQUE, developed in the mountains of the sierra Zongolica, Veracruz. When the Mexican photographer first traveled to the region in 2016, she found a territory of vast nature, and abundant in culture, in this area mostly inhabited by the Nahuas people. The relationship between the original communities and nature triggered her interest to decode human rituals through photographic composition, creating a new one at the time of the image capture inserting new symbolic elements; in order to show new meanings of the socio- cultural and natural structures that the sierra shelters. “Iluikak”, is the photographer’s personal gaze of the mysticism that shapes the relationships between nature, identity and territory, in which color and lighting are fundamental, giving specificity to the body of works conforming the exhibition.

Sometimes the human being understands his spirit through an architecture that may never become real. Fantasy is that imagination fruit which knows itself as fiction. This is a photographic series of recreational scenarios where the human being has abandoned his identity-selfness to become an imaginary-self.  In this architecture of the distraction is where mankind looks to built an ephemeral reality. Lucid Eutopia observed this scenarios faraway from its usual function, looking for another  meaning, perhaps more mysterious and tenebrous without its feedbacker component. The photographic works are made during night-time via long expositions. In this desert moment, the oeuvre captures the flow of time, manifesting the actual space activity, bringing back its autonomy and life, moving away from the static image. Lucid Eutopia opens a dialogue over the meaning of these spaces and our need to make them a sanctuary to take refuge.

Sometimes the human being understands his spirit through an architecture that may never become real. Fantasy is that imagination fruit which knows itself as fiction. This is a photographic series of recreational scenarios where the human being has abandoned his identity-selfness to become an imaginary-self.  In this architecture of the distraction is where mankind looks to built an ephemeral reality. Lucid Eutopia observed this scenarios faraway from its usual function, looking for another  meaning, perhaps more mysterious and tenebrous without its feedbacker component. The photographic works are made during night-time via long expositions. In this desert moment, the oeuvre captures the flow of time, manifesting the actual space activity, bringing back its autonomy and life, moving away from the static image. Lucid Eutopia opens a dialogue over the meaning of these spaces and our need to make them a sanctuary to take refuge.

El Cimarrón y su Fandango (2014) allegorically speaks about the Afro, Indigenous and Mulato communities in Mexico and its members’ journey through the fluctuations of colonial history, their integration into the Mexican territory, and their sense of identity. Yet that past isn’t merely a descriptive historical concept: it is, above all, a definition of the present. A present, in the case of their Afro-Mexican descendants, that remains marginal, unstable, and immemorial. This series has been largely published in global media including The New York Times, British Journal of Photography and belongs to some of the preeminent institutional collections in Mexico. Recently was shown at National Museum of Photography Centro de la Imagen, Museo Amparo and numerous museums through Asia Pacific with the support of Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry.

El Cimarrón y su Fandango (2014) allegorically speaks about the Afro, Indigenous and Mulato communities in Mexico and its members’ journey through the fluctuations of colonial history, their integration into the Mexican territory, and their sense of identity. Yet that past isn’t merely a descriptive historical concept: it is, above all, a definition of the present. A present, in the case of their Afro-Mexican descendants, that remains marginal, unstable, and immemorial. This series has been largely published in global media including The New York Times, British Journal of Photography and belongs to some of the preeminent institutional collections in Mexico. Recently was shown at National Museum of Photography Centro de la Imagen, Museo Amparo and numerous museums through Asia Pacific with the support of Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry.

El Cimarrón y su Fandango (2014) allegorically speaks about the Afro, Indigenous and Mulato communities in Mexico and its members’ journey through the fluctuations of colonial history, their integration into the Mexican territory, and their sense of identity. Yet that past isn’t merely a descriptive historical concept: it is, above all, a definition of the present. A present, in the case of their Afro-Mexican descendants, that remains marginal, unstable, and immemorial. This series has been largely published in global media including The New York Times, British Journal of Photography and belongs to some of the preeminent institutional collections in Mexico. Recently was shown at National Museum of Photography Centro de la Imagen, Museo Amparo and numerous museums through Asia Pacific with the support of Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry.

El Cimarrón y su Fandango (2014) allegorically speaks about the Afro, Indigenous and Mulato communities in Mexico and its members’ journey through the fluctuations of colonial history, their integration into the Mexican territory, and their sense of identity. Yet that past isn’t merely a descriptive historical concept: it is, above all, a definition of the present. A present, in the case of their Afro-Mexican descendants, that remains marginal, unstable, and immemorial. This series has been largely published in global media including The New York Times, British Journal of Photography and belongs to some of the preeminent institutional collections in Mexico. Recently was shown at National Museum of Photography Centro de la Imagen, Museo Amparo and numerous museums through Asia Pacific with the support of Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry.

El Cimarrón y su Fandango (2014), habla alegóricamente sobre el pasado de una comunidad de origen africano y el viaje de sus miembros a través de las fluctuaciones de la historia colonial, su integración en el territorio mexicano, y su sentido de identidad dentro de ella. No obstante, ese pasado no es solo la descripción de un concepto histórico; es -sobre todo- una definición de la presente. Un presente, en el caso de sus descendientes afro-mexicanos, que permanecen marginados, inestables e inmemorables para el discurso hegemónico.

El Cimarrón y su Fandango (2014), habla alegóricamente sobre el pasado de una comunidad de origen africano y el viaje de sus miembros a través de las fluctuaciones de la historia colonial, su integración en el territorio mexicano, y su sentido de identidad dentro de ella. No obstante, ese pasado no es solo la descripción de un concepto histórico; es -sobre todo- una definición de la presente. Un presente, en el caso de sus descendientes afro-mexicanos, que permanecen marginados, inestables e inmemorables para el discurso hegemónico.

El Cimarrón y su Fandango (2014), habla alegóricamente sobre el pasado de una comunidad de origen africano y el viaje de sus miembros a través de las fluctuaciones de la historia colonial, su integración en el territorio mexicano, y su sentido de identidad dentro de ella. No obstante, ese pasado no es solo la descripción de un concepto histórico; es -sobre todo- una definición de la presente. Un presente, en el caso de sus descendientes afro-mexicanos, que permanecen marginados, inestables e inmemorables para el discurso hegemónico.