Change and decay: commemorating a declining way of life
April 08, 2023
In his exhibition "Autopsy of a landscape", Asier Gogortza applies the methods of forensic analysis to an exploration of the state of the Basque Country's rural landscapes.
The word autopsy comes from ancient Greek. "Seeing for oneself" would be a direct translation:ÀŽ''±á''½''à'âà'Åà'â(autos, self) andá''½'âà'ËÀŽ''¹à'â(opsis, seeing). "The primary purpose of an autopsy," observes Asier, "is to examine the body of the deceased, verify that he or she is indeed dead, and then analyze the causes of death."
The four photo-series that make up this exhibition are the fruit of a similar approach. Landscapes, villages, and houses that once were full of life now appear moribund or completely dead. The photographer has undertaken a forensic documentation of their demise.
One of the four series consists of photos of all the sheep byres in the municipal territory of Bera, in Navarre, where Asier lives. These stone constructions and the pastures around them remind us that, in Bera as in most other Pyrenean communities, sheepherding was formerly one of the main pillars of the local economy.
Today, these sheep byres are little more than an echo of a bygone time. More than half of them are in ruins and invaded by brambles. Only a few of those still standing are still used for sheepherding.
The dispassionate eye of the photographer, however, has no truck with nostalgia. All the sheep byres have been photographed from the same angle, as in a forensic examination. Then, as with corpses after an autopsy in a morgue, those that are abandoned and in ruins have been covered with a white sheet.
"It's a question," explains Asier, "of preserving what's left of their dignity."
Exhibition in the Prison des Évêques, Saint Jean Pied de Port
8-30 April, daily except Tuesdays 11.00 - 12.30 and 14.00 - 18.30
