Interview by Alasdair Foster for Talking Pictures Magazine
PARALLEL REALITIES
Exhibition Prologue
Puerto Rican born photographer Larry González present the show Parallel Realities as a transition between two bodies of work with similar themes. The first body of work was created in Puerto Rico between 2016 - 2019. The second body of work was completed in Argentina between 2022 - 2023.
Larry González’s work adopts a conceptual approach, crafting narratives from personal experiences. Through a blend of film lighting, digital technology, and large format photography, he delves into the relationship between individuals and their environments in the Caribbean and South America. Living in Puerto Rico has prompted him to explore new methods of image creation, drawing inspiration from his earlier work. By constructing narratives rooted in personal experiences, he strives to create an intimate visual experience that reveals a dramatic realm where psychology and memory intertwine. His work invites exploration and interpretation, aiming to resonate with a wider audience through its subjective and mysterious language.
Larry Gonzalez
Larry Gonzalez (1962 Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a Latin American fine art photographer and filmmaker. First mentored by renowned photographers Abelardo Morell and Laura McPhee at The Massachusetts College of Art, Gonzalez's large format staged photographs explore themes of personal memory, time, and identity. Drawing further inspiration from artists like Hiroshi Sugimoto and Gregory Crewdson, Gonzalez's latest work blur the lines between the found and the constructed. His current projects create a surreal universe where fact and fiction coexist, resulting in a narrative language that feels both mythological and deeply personal.
González received his MFA in Photography from The Yale School of Art 1996. He has a professional background in cinematography and documentary filmmaking, Gonzalez's diverse experiences enrich his artistic practice, allowing him to create visually compelling and thought-provoking work that pushes the boundaries of personal narrative and visual storytelling. He recently moved to San Francisco, California for a teaching position and also recently received a JGS Fellowship for Photography grant from the New York Foundation for the Arts to continue is artistic pursuits.
William Mead
Mead earned his BFA at Parsons School of Design in 1989. He completed a lifetime certification in secondary art education at Massachusetts College of Art in 1992. In 1999 he completed a Master’s degree in Education (MEd) At Lesley University.
Mead met González during their time together at the Massachusetts College of Art in the early 1990's and it has been his pleasure to curate a show of González's work at Axis Gallery and bring some attention to this amazing photographer's work.
Sur: A Journey Through Intangible Landscapes. in Progress
EL ESPACIO QUE HABITO
Exhibition prologue
The central thematic focus of the work is to metaphorically reinterpret the author's emotional relationship with geographical spaces that hold significance in his personal life. Urban decay and transformation, as well as suburban anxiety, are urgent concepts that lend themselves perfectly to interpretation and scrutiny through the photographic medium. This elucidation is achieved through the construction of photographic scenes. Each piece becomes a vignette that functions, within the entirety of the work, as a scene in a film.
The construction of each piece follows a methodology reminiscent of a film set. To achieve a visual uniformity, the photographer also limits himself to a specific visual scope, exclusively using lenses with a 35mm focal length, which allows for a more organic approach. This process is slow and meticulous, requiring hours of pre-visualization, assembly, and execution. To preserve image quality, it is necessary to push the limits of digital technology by using long exposures and low light sensitivities.
The employed working methodology not only ensures final pieces rich in saturation, contrast, and definition but also affects the photographer's relationship with the spaces. Ultimately, by adopting the slow processes of analog photography, the artist establishes a direct connection with the medium's tradition and seeks to redefine it. "The Space I Inhabit" represents the next level in the aesthetic and thematic evolution of the artist, transitioning from a traditional style to a more conceptual one. With this project, the artist finally begins to synthesize his most relevant influences. The importance of this project also holds a profound significance within a career that manifests the artist's emotional relationship with Puerto Rico.
