SCHMITZ, Charlotte - La Puente / AS SIGNED COPY

Background information

"The stunning photos in 'La Puente' were taken in a large brothel in Ecuador where over 150 women work. The photos were taken in collaboration with the women, who chose their own poses and later painted the Polaroids with nail polish. The nail polish was originally used to maintain anonymity, but quickly evolved into a creative tool that the women could use to embellish the world in the brothel. Not only the poses chosen, but also the use of nail polish tell of the women's internal and external perceptions. The images in 'La Puente' also raise questions about the sexualized image of women in our society. The process of working with Polaroids and nail polish gave the women the control to personalize their own photographs and break down the power structures in artistic production itself by involving women in the creative field.

Content

Her project brings together doukmentary material and Polaroid photographs.

Additional information

Charlotte SCHMITZ won the FotoEvidence competition with the photo series 'La Puente' - a work about women in a brothel in Ecuador - and with it the publication as a book format in an edition of 500 copies. The book cover, with its foam filling under the carefully selected white gold metallic paper, emphasizes the object character of the photo volume. The title and names on the cover are Charlotte SCHMITZ's personal handwriting, referring to her notes in the book, which were once handwritten in "La Puente' and now accompany the photographs throughout the book." (free translation of publisher's text, © FotoEvidence, 2019)

About the German photographer, Charlotte SCHMITZ

Photo books by Charlotte SCHMITZ