Mexico // An exhibtion of National Geografic

You describe yourself as a visual storyteller. Which stories do you tell with your photography?

R: I tell stories of humans to inspire other humans. My interest in stories started when I was a little boy, every time I talked to my grandpas I enjoyed it with because of their memories, I created images in my head of their description and narratives. So all the stories I like to tell are stories that are unknown, and even when an image can suggest something obvious the context and written narrative will let you discover places and situations you were not aware of. I think that is the true power of photography and storytelling, to open the hearts and minds of people, because at the end, the personal secrets, wisdom and memories of all humans are not searchable on google, those are waiting for us the photographers and storytellers to discover. I like stories about topics I am not familiar with, to let myself to be surprised and explore through the eyes and steps of the locals. My stories are the most honest I can, I can not visit a place or community carrying on my back a prejudice, I have to let the place and people to surprise me. Talking about the visual narrative I like to work with natural light, no flashes, let’s keep it real. Film makers have the chance to capture image, movement and sound, we don’t, so I try to make images that when the viewer sees it, can feel and give inside their minds the movement, and the sound. I also try to focus on hard, strong and sometimes heartbreaking topics but with a positive narrative, because at the end I am a witness of human evolution, and my goal is to write a love letter to our planet and humanity.

Your works are part of an exhibition of the LUMEN Museum at Plan de Corones. How well do you know South Tyrol and the Dolomites?

To be honest I am not very familiar with these places, I have seen some pictures and heard about them, most of my work develops in Latin America. I just googled South Tyrol and the Dolomites and I’m falling in love! Places like this are the ones which takes your breath away and literally are the reason to protect them. I will tag this places in the map I have in my office to know I have to visit them before I get old.

Which works of yours are shown in the exhibition?

R: I will be showing some of my work of Patagonia and Tierra de Fuego in the southern most of Argentina and Chile, incredible pristine places very close to the Antarctic. To see this mountains with still healthy glaciers will be a unique experience. It is always interesting to face with an image and let your inner voice to start talking. Each visitor will have a different experience, which at the end all of them will be personal and emotional. Humans connect with photography because we all have memories and no matter how much technology there is, but to enjoy and experience photography will only be with prints, the physical evidence that we were there to witness a moment, a story of the human evolution.

Ricardo Azarcoya

Rikky Azarcoya wurde in Mexiko-Stadt geboren und wohnt derzeit in Querétaro, Mexiko. Er studierte Fotografie an der Escuela Activa de Fotografia und in Spanien. Im Jahr 2008 absolvierte Azarcoya ein Praktikum bei der Agentur VII PHOTO, wo er deren Archiv organisierte und als Agenturredakteur bei Magazinen wie Time, Newsweek und The New Yorker assistierte. Im Jahr 2009 wurde Azarcoya Botschafter von Canon Mexicana. Seitdem hat er mit Canon Mexicana bei Vorträgen, Workshops und Portfolio-Reviews zusammengearbeitet. Azarcoya gründete in seiner Heimatstadt Querétaro Photofest, ein internationales Festival für Fotojournalismus und Dokumentation. Im vierten Jahr seines Bestehens wurde das Festival in die Liste der besten Festivals der Welt des Telegraph aufgenommen, das einzige Festival in Mexiko, das auf der Liste steht. Azarcoya ist außerdem 2016 Empfänger eines Stipendiums der National Geographic Society für die erste visuelle, vertikale und wissenschaftliche Erforschung des zweitgrößten Kraters der Welt, El sótano del Barro.