11 Questions with Iván Cáceres

Ivan Cáceres (Madrid, June 1984), thinks of his body of work as a photographic dialectic between our past and present through architecture and landscape. A territory identity is constructed over time through architecture and landscape modifications to communicate who the region, country, or city is and its distinctiveness.

Often referencing European history, Ivan Cáceres’ work explores the varying relationships between forms, geometries, and composition that shape the places we live in. His compositions are usually frontal, geometrical, from a certain distance, assuming a neutral position. Historical memory and disappearance are issues that are always present in Cáceres’ photos. Although there may not always be material similarities between the different projects, however, they are linked by recurring formal concerns and subject matter.

ivancaceresphoto.com | @ivancaceresart

After studying Architecture at ETSAM for three years, he moved to Valencia, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 2010 (Polytechnic University of Valencia). He works as a departmental collaborator in the Audiovisual Communication, Documentation & Art History Department during this period. He then studied two postgraduate courses at the Polytechnic University of Valencia: Master’s Degree in Artistic Production, specializing in “Contemporary Thought and Visual Culture” (2012), and the Master’s Degree in Photography, Art and Technique (2016). In 2013, he moved to Berlin to work as an intern photographer and graphic designer, developing his artistic projects in parallel. He returns finally to Madrid in 2016 and starts teaching photography at the University.

Before talking about your art, could you tell us about yourself? Who is Iván Cáceres?

Above all, I consider myself an extremely curious person who constantly tries to find relationships between apparently disparate elements. I believe that curiosity is the main source of artistic creation. Similarly, a scientist is driven by the desire to deeply know the reality surrounding him and the causes behind natural phenomena. This desire to explore has never left me since I was a child.

This is probably the reason that has led me today to combine photographic creation with university teaching, a job that takes up a great deal of my time throughout the week. I believe that it is an ethical duty to share with others the knowledge and experiences lived by oneself, but, above all, to inspire the development of a curious and critical attitude. To achieve this, any discipline is equally useful. Photography is an artistic technique that represents a huge challenge and makes many demands on me, so I practice it with a special dedication. Still, I am open to other disciplines such as filming, painting, composing music, and writing. 

What kind of education or training helped you develop your skillset?

Due to my interest in the world of art, on the one hand, and scientific research, on the other, I decided to study Architecture as it was a discipline that combined both worlds. The "artistic side" was gaining ground to the "technical side," so after three years, I decided to move to another city to study Fine Arts and work as a painter. Over the years, my interest in photography increased thanks to my father, since his main hobby is black and white film photography. He turned my old bedroom into a small darkroom and taught me how to develop my first photographic film. 

During the last 6 or 7 years, I have been re-connecting with architecture and landscape, but this time through the viewfinder of a camera. I think of my formative stage as a circular journey in which, somehow, I have returned to the starting point with new eyes, new goals, and new tools. 

For the last five years, I've kept learning every day thanks to my students, who still share with me a great amount of enthusiasm and motivation for this art. This daily dialectic exchange is a source of knowledge, not only for students but also for teachers.

Please describe the intention behind your project, "The Great Green." How do you successfully express this intention?

The Great Green is a project that tries to bring together different architectural solutions of cultures that emerged around the Mediterranean Basin over the centuries. It is a photographic series that tries to let the architecture speak for itself, without author's signature being shown explicitly.

It is not a project that tries to "illustrate" different cultures separately, but rather the focus is on the very forms of the buildings and infrastructures. The images are grouped by formal analogy, so those interesting and unexpected findings can be made. The Mediterranean Sea has served as a border but, at the same time, as a trade channel of exchange. These photos evoke a global feeling, a Mediterranean "taste", without privileging one culture over another. I believe that one of the main pillars of this artwork is to highlight the cultural syncretism embodied in different architectures.

In order to achieve this, I have established a list of self-imposed rules when making the photographs to ensure formal coherence throughout the series: the same focal length, same point of view, a certain distance, the same format, and a big effort to show the Mediterranean light in all its warmth and hardness.

Historical memory and disappearance are issues that are always present in your work. Can you tell our readers what experience of your life is reflected in your works of art?

History has always fascinated me. Since I was a child, I have always searched, almost obsessively, for the precedents and causes of everything that has caught my attention. When I am not reading about photography or aesthetics, I am mainly reading historical essays. I love that what we recognize today of a certain city or landscape is a palimpsest composed of layers and layers of history that sometimes get mixed up with myth. Something similar happens when we research our family's past. In 2006 a relative of mine published a book entitled "The Prison's Child," He talked about the hardships he had to endure as a political prisoner when he was only 15 years old after the Spanish Civil War. This fact was unknown to me until the book was published and I was deeply shocked. Since then, historical memory (concerning the Spanish Civil War and World War II) has been an issue that has always been present in some of my artworks, for example, in the project called "The Last March" (2016). 

How long did it take to develop this project?  

Although you can find photos taken in 2013 was last year (2019) when I decided to build a series as a whole project. After reviewing the photographs taken during various trips around the Mediterranean, I realized that some were very similar, representing photographic typologies. At this point, I decided to make new trips and take new pictures seeking to go further with it in a way that had only been given intuitively. 

Since then, I continue traveling, taking pictures, and the series is still growing. It is a project that I am developing in parallel with other projects of smaller size. It could be said that The Great Green is a life project that always goes with me and to which I return when I have the opportunity to travel. 

Do you have a role model that you've drawn inspiration from when creating your art?

As a student, I was fascinated by the discipline and precision of Hilla and Bernd Becher in creating their famous photographic "Typologies." The deep respect struck me they had for photography but also for the forms of the industrial constructions they usually photographed, revealing great observation skills. Later on, I became interested in some of their most famous students who continued with understanding photography: Candida Höffer, Thomas Ruff, Thomas Struth, etc.

On the other hand, other authors have been a great influence on my artwork, such as Bleda and Rosa (the projects "Architectures" and "Battlefields") and Ana Teresa Ortega (with the project "Silenced Cartographies"). They are all Spanish authors who love the Düsseldorf Style and have had the privilege of being a student.

Can you tell us about the process of creating your work?

I usually start researching the object of study, looking for archives, publications, and specific essays about it. I consider that, when approaching a new project, it is very important to acquire deep knowledge about what is going to be photographed. This helps me a lot when deciding how I am going to work technically and conceptually. 

On the other hand, I also spend a lot of time planning the photo shoot. Since I usually work with landscapes and architectures, it is essential to make a previous study of how the sunlight is going to be and the optimal time of day to take the pictures.

I usually try to avoid elements that could distract or disturb the attention towards the photographed object, so I avoid photographing people (which sometimes requires a lot of patience) or, when it is not possible, I remove them from the image with Adobe Photoshop. The main point for me is to show what I want to photograph as cleanly and clearly as possible, taking special care with framing and composition. 

Is there a photograph you consider a "breakthrough" in your work regarding approach or subject matter? 

In "The Great Green," you can see a picture taken in 2013 in Marrakesh, where the so-called "Saadian Tombs" appear. When I took this photo, with greenish tones and polished white columns, I was not aware of how influential it would be later in 2019, when I decided to start building this project. 

When I looked at this picture again, I realized that I was compositively marking out the path I followed. The purity of the forms and the arrangement of the elements inspired me to follow this path. I still consider this picture as a model when I'm working on the project.

Today, the world is facing the pandemic COVID-19. What is a typical day like for you? How do you continue doing your art under these circumstances?

The pandemic we are currently living has changed our routines radically and unexpectedly. I currently live and work in Madrid, one of the cities most affected by this crisis. After these months, it seems that most of us have become used to living with a mask, with social distance and some restrictions.

It is in the field of education where a radical change has been most noticeable. We, teachers, give lessons with a transparent screen that covers our faces, and we have to be aware that there are also students on the other side of the computer, so we have had to update ourselves on a technological level.

In the field of photography, "The Great Green" is currently in a "standby" state since the trips to Turkey and Egypt that I had planned for this year had to be canceled. I am currently focusing more on reading and researching to plan future trips when the situation goes better, and it is easier to travel abroad. 

Any shows, galleries, or publications where our readers can find your work?

My artwork can be seen on my website and my Instagram account. Some of my projects are recently published in the Dodho Magazine, Felix Schoeller Photo Award, and Trieste Photo Days 2019 websites.

What advice can you give to beginning artists who want to pursue a career in photography?

My main advice for beginners is consistency. I believe that if a subject interests you, you should dive into it and explore it to the end, trying to gather as much information as possible about it. It is very important to trust the chosen subject as long as the photographer is truly passionate and curious about it. I believe that any subject has the potential to be interesting as long as it is shown with depth, coherence, and self-confidence.

On the other hand, I think it is important to be very clear about which are the influences that interest you and which are not, especially those who are not. We should not fear that the first artworks will resemble our favorite artists' projects. Little by little, with insistence and self-analysis, our style will show up over time.