One of the seven photographic series that are exhibited in the Spanish Pavilion at the 15th edition of the Venice Biennale is Landscapes under construction, a project in which its author, Alfonso Batalla, uses photographic composition as a medium to generate a metaphor of the reality that the housing boom has led in Spain.
Despite appearances to the contrary, none of these spaces exists in the real world. Landscapes under construction intends to face the new against the decadent by superimposing generally new elements in spaces in decomposition. As they are absolutely realistic images, the viewer sees them as existing, which causes their "existence". The aim is that the "insertion" is done in a "not so obvious" way, by sometimes digitally reconstructing elements of space itself, or by placing everyday objects in it, but always trying to give an unease sense to the viewer as , more or less evidently, they are presented to a space in which something should not be there. Sometimes this feeling is vague and force the viewer to find what's wrong with the picture; other times on the contrary it is clear and even shocking.
Complete removal of temporary dimension, of three-dimensionality, artist's decisions on the instant, composition, optics and other technical elements of the photographic capture, generate a specific, voluntary, fragmented and altered reality result.
By showing the ambiguity between the new and the decadent, these photographs contain a metaphor about the photographic device and language.
Despite appearances to the contrary, none of these spaces exists in the real world. Landscapes under construction intends to face the new against the decadent by superimposing generally new elements in spaces in decomposition. As they are absolutely realistic images, the viewer sees them as existing, which causes their "existence". The aim is that the "insertion" is done in a "not so obvious" way, by sometimes digitally reconstructing elements of space itself, or by placing everyday objects in it, but always trying to give an unease sense to the viewer as , more or less evidently, they are presented to a space in which something should not be there. Sometimes this feeling is vague and force the viewer to find what's wrong with the picture; other times on the contrary it is clear and even shocking.
Complete removal of temporary dimension, of three-dimensionality, artist's decisions on the instant, composition, optics and other technical elements of the photographic capture, generate a specific, voluntary, fragmented and altered reality result.
By showing the ambiguity between the new and the decadent, these photographs contain a metaphor about the photographic device and language.
![Aínda sen título. White Letter [#3] to Narelle Jubelin. (Elena Asins · Narelle Jubelin · Anna Turbau). Photograph by Roi Alonso, courtesy of Galería Nordés](/sites/default/files/styles/mopis_home_news_category_slider_desktop/public/lead-images/metalocus_narelle-jubellin_carta-aberta_22_2p.webp?h=3b4e7bc7&itok=ALbdeJ3O "Aínda sen título. White Letter [#3] to Narelle Jubelin. (Elena Asins · Narelle Jubelin · Anna Turbau). Photograph by Roi Alonso, courtesy of Galería Nordés")
