Reinaldo Loureiro – Santiago de Compostela, 1970


Farhana is part of a larger body of work that looks at cross-border territories and how they shape the experience of those who inhabit them. These images in particular refer to a turning point in the life of many individuals that have put their trust in the hands of human smugglers only to be caught between border fences. A police officer is in charge of taking these images not only to serve as evidence but also to be widely distributed to news agencies and newspapers. These are short-lived images that populate the local and national media almost on a weekly basis.

Collecting and putting these photographs together in a more stable platform can help to reflect upon the representation and visibility of migrants in contemporary Spanish society. It is precisely in that process of appropriation that I have cropped out the customs and police badges to focus attention on the experience these men and women have just gone through.