Ghost World
Juan Rodríguez Morales | Spain
Photographer: Juan Rodríguez Morales
Exhibit Title: Ghost World
Location: Spain
I grew up in a town near a big city. It is Alcobendas, a small town located next to Madrid, the capital of Spain. Although its name doesn't really matter, all the towns around the capital are more or less the same. They have quality public services, entertainment and a more than remarkable standard of living. However, despite the development, life seems to have come to a standstill. Important things happen a few miles away in the now big city; however, in what are now considered the suburbs, no one seems to be aware of life outside. It seems that the energy has moved to the large shopping malls surrounding the city leaving it empty, hollow.
The photos that make up this series belong to two cities separated only by a street and where I have spent most of my life: Alcobendas and San Sebastián de los Reyes. Since 2013 I have been photographing their streets and inhabitants. Their story is the same as the rest of the cities surrounding the big cities. A story of placidity but also of melancholy and boredom.
Juan Rodríguez Morales was born in Madrid in 1980. In 2003, he completed his studies in Psychology at the Autonomous University of Madrid. Shortly thereafter, he began studying photography at the Popular University of Alcobendas (Madrid). From the outset, he was interested in documentary photography and street photography. In 2011, he participated in a photography workshop with Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb. After this workshop, his vision of photography changed.
In 2013, he was selected to participate in PhotoEspaña Descubrimientos with his work “One big city”. He has been part of the collective project “Contemporáneos”, participating in various group exhibitions and in the book “Contemporáneos” published by La fábrica in 2015. With this collective, he has mounted several group exhibitions, including those held at Segovia Foto, Imaginaria, and the PhotoEspaña Off Festival in 2016.
Individually, he has been selected as a finalist in various festivals focused on documentary and street photography, including Eyeshot, Miami Street Photography Festival, Aussie Street Photo Festival, and Brussels Street Photo Festival.
His work has been published in digital and print media, including: Clavoardiendo, AYE Magazine, PhotoArt Magazine, Dodho Magazine, The Hidden Photo, F-STOP Magazine, Eyeshot Street Photography Magazine, Positive Magazine, Fraction Magazine, Docu Magazine, Float Magazine, DocuStreet Magazine, Ain't Bad Magazine, Color Tag Magazine, Körper Magazine, Broad Magazine, Caption Magazine, Frayme Magazine.
In 2023, he published his first book, entitled Ghost World, with the publisher Calma y Sosiego.
Email: juanrodriguezfotografia@gmail.com
Website: https://juanrodriguezmorales.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juanrodriguezmoralesphoto/
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