PHotoEspaña and documentary photography magazine Ojo de pez make public the winner VII PhotoEspaña OjodePez Human Values Award, recognizing the work of documentary photography that highlights the values of solidarity, ethics, justice or effort.
The winner of the seventh annual award is the Spanish photographer Aitor Lara for his series Child Poverty in Spain. The project has been carried out in different neighborhoods and children's social centers of Seville and Madrid to illustrate the draft Child Poverty in Spain presented by Save the Children in 2014.
The work is awarded 2,000 euros, will be the subject of a traveling exhibition in FNAC of Spain and Portugal centers between September 2014 and June 2015, and will be part of the number OjodePez devoted each fall to the contest and will be published in September .
(In Spanish) El jurado profesional encargado de conceder el Premio PHotoEspaña OjodePez de Valores Humanos 2014 ha considerado en el fallo del galardón que «el trabajo es consistente y relacionado con la temática del premio y la calidad se destaca por su visión personal y estilo, y el profundo respeto por el tema. La serie se refiere a la situación contemporánea en España y refleja el momento crítico del país de una manera no estereotipada examinado los efectos colaterales y no simplemente lo que los titulares de prensa indican».
Este jurado ha estado compuesto por Erik Vroons, de GUP Magazine; Mauro Bedoni, de Colors; Diego Orlando, de Burn Magazine, Carine Dolek, de Fetart and Circulations y Arianna Rinaldo, directora de la revista OjodePez.
El ganador, Aitor Lara, explica que «las historias reflejadas en las fotografías seleccionadas responden a un problema que afecta hoy a 2.826.549 de niños y niñas en España, el de la pobreza y la exclusión social. Los niños de España son ciudadanos del presente y actores clave del futuro de este país, la sociedad debe tomar conciencia a todos los niveles de la gravedad del asunto. La crisis económica ha expuesto a muchas familias a una disminución de sus ingresos, lo que ha disparado los indicadores de pobreza y de exclusión social. Es una situación severa que se presenta en la vida cotidiana de los niños, convirtiéndose en un obstáculo para el disfrute y el ejercicio de los derechos esenciales (vivienda, alimentación, educación, sanidad, etc) reconocidos en la Convención sobre los Derechos del Niño».
Aitor Lara. (born, Barakaldo, Vizcaya, Spain, 1974). He addresses issues related to sociocultural values, identity and anonymity, suggesting ways to interpret contemporary realities. He has worked in differents countries bringing to light the anthropological dimensions of social minorities such as indigenous peoples, sex workers, etc.
His professional career began in 1999 upon receiving the photography award from Spanish gallerist Juana de Aizpuru, and showing his work in international photography fairs such as ARCO and ParisPhoto. In 2004, he receives the research grant Ruy de Clavijo from the Casa Asia program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain to carry out a project in Uzbekistan. This work resulted in the publication of the book Tower of Silence in 2008. He also published the book Maestranza, a photographic report about the bullring of Seville. This work was exhibited in large format in the facade of the FNAC building in Seville. In 2010, he participated in the OjodePez Photo Meeting Barcelona. He has published in magazines such as NewsWeek, Financial Times, Ojo de Pez or Vokrug Sveta. In 2012, he published the book Ronda Goyesca edited by La Fábrica. He was a nominee of the Magnum Foundation Emergency Fund Grant in 2012.
In 2013, Aitor Lara carried out an assignment by Save the Children to document the situation of Children in Poverty in Spain. He also received the Endesa Grant to carry out the project Dragoman.
