Hand Held/En las Manos

 




On April 11th 2013, I had the pleasure of attending the opening of Hand Held/En las manos at the General Consulate of Mexico in Los Angeles. This event is brought to Los Angeles by the Consulate and the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Los Angeles (UNAM-LA) with the aim of sharing the cultural and academic talents of contemporary Mexico with the United States. Hand Held is latest in many exemplary events born from the partnership of these two institutions.Hand held/En las manos is the debut photographic exhibition of Alan Ayub Vidali.

A native of Mexico City, Alan moved to Los Angeles in 2010 with his sights set on the world of visual arts. In Mexico he obtained an Associate's Degree in Photography, as well as a BFA in Film Cinematography from CECC (Centro de Estudios en Ciencias de la Comunicación).

Hand held/En las manos is a collection of 40 black and white pictures where Alan highlights
the human hand as the key protagonist, sometimes by itself and at other times holding an object to serve as contrast or to add context. This idea is really a progression of an earlier project where Alan took to the streets of Mexico City, asking perfect strangers, permission to photograph their hands in which ever pose they desired. Hand held differs from this early endeavor by moving the setting from the streets to his studio where he could truly focus on his main character, the human hand.

As I made my way, picture by picture, in a counterclockwise fashion through the hall, I was delightfully surprised at the character of each picture. As Alan alluded to in his Artist's Statement, each hand can reveal traces of en entire life. By isolating them from their physical context, they invite you to imagine that life. Each wrinkle and imperfection gives the viewer clues from which to construct an entire back story. In this manner, every hand is subject to the viewer's own perspective, creativity and inference. As Alan said in his speech at the inauguration, his work is entirely up for interpretation. Everyone is entitled to make it his or her own. Even the titles inspired an amusing conversation with my friend about whether we could think of a new title because of our take on the content of each respective picture.

The inauguration was a lot of fun. The Consul of Cultural Affairs, Alejandro Pelayo, introduced Alan. He gave special thanks to the Director of UNAM-LA, Diego Gutierrez. He also thanked his lovely wife, Ines.

It was catered by Frida Mexican Cuisine. You might recall them from my last post ;) Alan asked them to respect his vegan diet and they were more than able to make some delicious Mexican hors d'oeurves with no animal ingredients. They also served wine and margaritas.

If anyone is interested in checking out his work in person, it is not too late. The Consulate will keep this exhibition running through May 10th. Just send an e-mail to: culturemex@gmail.com
If this blog finds you sometime after the 10th of May, you can always check out Alan's work on his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/alanvidali.pix?fref=ts 
 or website:
www.photopixelography.com

To find out more about events organized by UNAM in Los Angeles check out their page:
www.unamla.org
or visit their Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/unamla?fref=ts
For more events held by the Consulate General of Mexico in Los Angeles, check out their Cultural Affairs Facebook at:
https://www.facebook.com/AsuntosCulturalesMx?fref=ts