Every art exhibition I visit has something special about it, whether in its overall feel or in the finer details, but being able to see the underlying story and the emotions that led the artist to take that particular photograph—and not another—is what really interests me
The other day I told someone that I’d love to be a professional photographer; I inherited my love of photography from my grandfather, and I practise it all the time. I always want to improve, and when I see an exhibition with such beauty, it moves me. And this is mainly because both eyes and hands are very important to me: with my eyes I see beauty, and with my hands I create art in various ways. Therefore, seeing an exhibition where hands take centre stage, regardless of the setting, is fascinating.
I visited this exhibition on two different days, because on the first day there was a talk taking place in that very room, which prevented me from taking good photographs, so I returned the day before it ended and was able to admire each of those wonderful photos at my leisure.
At the entrance there was a sign; it’s in Spanish, but I’ll translate it for everyone, because it’s worth it.
The art exhibition is titled “Cinco lobitos”, a reference to a Spanish nursery rhyme or song that was also popular in my native Argentina.
In Pepe Gómez’s work, the image can be heard. There is a silent resonance to it, a subtle vibration that cannot be heard, but can be felt. His photographs stem from a form of attention that recognises, in everyday life, the traces of what is shared. Each one appeals to memory and evokes an emotion that goes beyond the moment it was taken, expanding like an echo in a ritual that remains alive.
In Conco lobitos, the intensity lies not in what is shown, but in what is revealed. During Holy Week in Málaga, hands become a place where time takes shape, where experience is deposited and transformed into gesture. In them, the individual merges with the collective, and a bond spanning generations is recognised. It is in this persistence that the image finds its depth.
Sergio Croma, curator.
This text is highly significant for each of the photographs that make up the exhibition; they did not each have a title, but rather form a cohesive whole. And this goes beyond the fact that they are photographs related to Holy Week. Have you ever stopped to think about all the things we use our hands for?
When looking at each of these photos, you can appreciate those details, those moments when we don’t even realise we’re using our hands the gestures, the poses as I always say, the smallest details.
This exhibition took me back in time and reminded me of how many times my art teacher made me draw and paint hands and feet. They are very difficult to depict, just like faces, because they involve so many details, but that is precisely what matters: those details, the wrinkles, the marks, the knuckles, the nails, accessories such as rings everything counts.
Hands that hold objects, those resting on a shoulder to offer comfort, hands that take part in an embrace or those that are praying. Hands that greet with a firm handshake, those that wipe away tears of emotion or sadness, hands that point, that lend a helping hand, hands that carry things, hands that work, hands…
“The hand is the soul’s tool, its message, and the body has in it its fighting limb”
Miguel Hernández.
Let us reflect on this phrase, which was on one of the walls: hands are the tool of the soul, and how true that is. They carry out the very mission of the soul in our daily lives, conveying that message to others; and yet, with our hands we also fight not in a battle, but in life itself, that life which so often leads us to face difficult challenges.
Hands are used to work, to offer a caress, to hold a flower, to help those in need of strength; they hold a camera or a phone that takes photographs, the very ones I bring you today. With our hands we greet and bid farewell.
Our hands are with us every minute of our lives, and I think that’s why they’re so important to me. With my hands, I hold the brush I paint with, the pencil I write with, and with those very same hands, right now, I’m writing this for you, something that comes purely from my soul. Can you see how important they are?
It has been an exceptional and very thought-provoking exhibition for me. Thank you very much for joining me today; I wish you a wonderful Sunday. See you soon.
Amonet.
All photographs are my own.
