Madrid. The Mexican photographer Eloísa García Guerrero immersed herself in one of the most rugged and volcanic corners of the Iberian Peninsula, the Galician Costa da Morte, where she documented the comings and goings of migratory birds, the relief of the rocks overwhelmed without respite by the volcanic force of the Atlantic Ocean and the sound of the void, which was only interrupted when the voice of the cliffs
. This work saw the light with the presentation of the book At the Coast of Deathwhich was presented at the Casa de México in Madrid and was the prelude to an exhibition in which the complete work will be shown, scheduled for January in the capital of Spain.
This strip of land and sea is of imposing beauty, but it is also a dangerous place to sail, where the largest number of shipwrecks in history have been recorded, more than a hundred in just one century, due above all to the intense rains, which make the sea rough and inhospitable; in addition, its dozens of cliffs often blend in with the waves and the blurred landscape produced by storms. Hence its name, the Coast of Death.
Eloísa García Guerrero embarked on this project in December 2020, when the world was feeling the ravages of the Covid-19 pandemic. Hence her interest in this coast, partly intrigued by its name, but also attracted by the legends of wandering sailors and epic shipwrecks.
When I arrived it was night and a massive storm was falling. The place immediately provoked many emotions in me and from the first moment I felt inspired, like never before in my life.
the photographer recounted during the presentation of her book, which also includes two literary stories by the Galician-Mexican writer Elisa Queijeiro and another by the Galician narrator María Asunción Cancela Silva. Between the three of them, through the photographs of Eloísa García, they immersed themselves in what they themselves called the sounds of the void
and the voice of the cliffs
that are only heard in that corner of Galicia.
▲ Interest in visiting the Costa de la Muerte arose during the Covid-19 pandemic, partly intrigued by its name, but also drawn by legends of wandering sailors and epic shipwrecks.Photo courtesy of the photographer
The common thread of the project was birds, with which I have always had a special connection.
explained the artist, who with her images captured numerous enigmatic moments in which the fury of the sea, the perennial presence of the sky and its constant changes, as well as the fluttering of migratory birds, are mixed, evoking life in that sometimes spectral landscape. These are images that remind me of the best works of Romanticism or the most melancholic paintings of Friedrich
explained historian Javier García Luengo, who also participated in the presentation.
This is the second book by the Mexican photographer, after having published and exhibited her work 707 days in Algeriain which he documented his long stay in that country.
The complete works of At the Coast of Death It will be exhibited from January 8th next year at the Casa de Galicia in Madrid.