catalan Laia April (Barcelona, 1986). National Photography Award It is a project given by the Ministry of Culture with a donation of 30,000 Euros. The jury awarded the prize for the work “artistic research with extensive international experience”. Abril has focused her photographic work on topics related to women’s issues such as: secret abortion or eating disorders His approach is always extremely personal: He travels, researches, spends time and takes care of his portraits.
The result is sometimes a disturbing, accusatory work. Admirer of Sophie Calle and protégé of Joan FontcubertaHe studied at the International Center of Photography in New York and spent five years in Italy working for the famous magazine. ‘Colours’ supported by the founder of Benetton.
According to the jury, the work Abril “collects information and documents from different parts of the planet, focusing on issues that are still current and that socially and politically structure discrimination, especially against women. Individual and collective suffering that pushes certain people to the margins of society as an anonymous mass.”
Abril structured his works into successive thematic trilogies.We have always focused on relevant issues sexuality, body, psychology and women’s rights According to the award jury, with the aim of “breaking social taboos about what is different and encouraging empathy”.
This is true of the series ‘On Sexuality’, ‘On Eating Disorders’ (in which she depicts victims of bulimia) or ‘The History of Misogyny’, which can be seen as a devastating portrait of clandestine abortion at the Fotocolectanea gallery in Barcelona. They are infections that cause more than 40,000 deaths worldwide every year in different countries (from hanging to vaginal douching).
With the desire to explore the limits of femininity, she published the photography book ‘Lobismuller’ six years ago, which brings a new approach to femininity. Romasanta, the famous werewolf of the 19th century He is considered the first Spanish serial killer who was intersex.
He has published several books, including ‘Thinspiration’ (self-published, 2012), ‘Tediousophilia’ (Musée de l’Elysée, 2014) and ‘The Epilogue’ (Dewi Lewis, 2014); Paris Photography Awards-Aperture First Book Award, Kassel Photobook Festival and PHotoEspaña Best Book Award.
His work has been exhibited in various international exhibitions and is included in private and public collections such as the Musée de l’Elysée and Fotomuseum Winterthur, the French Regional Fund for Contemporary Art (FRAC) or the National Museum of Art of Catalonia. (MNAC).