Light Work : Past Exhibitions

MARTIN WEBER

A MAP OF LATIN AMERICAN DREAMS

January 12 - March 5, 2004
Contact Sheet 125

"Dreams are real. They exist," states Martin Weber. In the series A Map of Latin American Dreams, Weber aspires to record the hopes and dreams of his subjects, and to assemble an archive of portraits created throughout Latin America. Born and raised in Argentina, Weber feels that "Latin America is a land of contradictions and broken dreams. A place where countries are being rebuilt again and again almost every ten years." As the title of the series implies, Weber's goal is to draft his own map of Latin America, one that does not show geographic boundaries or variations of terrain, but instead portrays its people through their innermost desires.

To date, Weber has photographed in Argentina, Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico, and along the US-Mexican border. For this series, Weber asked his subjects to imagine what they desired most, then instructed them to inscribe it on small chalkboard. Each of his subjects assumed an active role in their own representation by choosing what to reveal. In the act of creating this work, Weber facilitates an intimate exchange between the subject and viewer, as if each subject is disclosing a secret for the viewer to take in.

Major exhibitions at Light Work are published in Contact Sheet. Exclusively from Light Work, this publication is available by subscription only.

Martin Weber

Weber looked back to his early studies in acting and theater while creating this work. The exaggerated theatrical appearance of many of his subjects parallels the instruction that stage actors are given to extenuate their gestures and expressions for the benefit of the audience seated in the back rows of a theater. Whether working with a single individual or an ensemble cast, each photograph in carefully staged by Weber. Every subject's position and expression denotes a specific relationship to their surroundings, or to the other individuals present in the frame. Expanding the notion of the photographic portrait, Weber creates with this series a multifaceted tableau vivant in which he actively directs the principle characters and setting.