My Ten Years

MANUEL MORQUECHO MY 10-YEAR STORY-TEN IMAGES I am a late-comer to photography or even to the artistic world. However, I always have had a passion for photography ever since I was a young boy growing up in a small town in Central Mexico. I am one of twelve other brothers and sisters. My story and that of my big family became unforgettable moments that remained in my mind like pictures, and later on the story behind several of my future images. Unfortunately, I had to leave my parents’ home as a teenager and find ways to support myself. I had to freeze my passion for photography for many years until I finally had the opportunity to jump into photography in 2009 when I lived in Guatemala. Thus, ten years ago, I started a journey that can only stop when my heartbeats had also stopped. My project proposal is to exhibit ten of my most important and iconic images that represent my evolution as an artist over the past ten years. I wanted to be an artist to capture both the reality that surrounds us as well as “my own reality” as I feel it or imagine it. I dare to say that there is fine line in my artwork that teeters on fantasy and reality, holding a special fairy-tale like quality. Photography is as my art-instrument since it allows me to grasp “these realities” in an instant without time and changing feelings manipulating them. I do not touch up my photos using editing software so as to not hide any imperfections that can disturb the original piece. In addition, I go as far as to design the clothing that the models wear in my photoshoots. My pleasure in photography comes when someone who sees my images is emotionally moved and is transported into a place of peace, beauty, poetry and deep feelings. Most of my images are captured in black and white, stripped of distractions of color. In so doing, I strive to create timeless portrayals of conflicts that lie within me, in all of us. These “realities” are clearly shown in the selected images portraying my 10-year story, as they allow me to unburden myself of what I see and at the same time, sharing fearlessly the feelings that live within me. As an artist and particularly as a photographer, I seek that people not only see my Art but also feel it. I want my Art to be always a dynamic conversation among people with frustrations, wishes, hopes, fears, and love.