© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

Tell us about the project “Never Far Removed” selected for the Urbanautica Institute Awards? What is the motivation and the theme you addressed?

Ernesto Solana (ES): My motivation as mentioned before comes from a drive to belong to the landscape. As a western-minded human I was brought up with the idea that nature and humanity are separate from one another. “Never Far Removed” addresses the complexities of navigating a human-altered world and the continued longing to experience the landscape as an extension of myself.

What are the practical difficulties you faced in its development?

ES: A constant limitation is time and I don’t mean limitation as a bad thing, but as a boundary that guides the project. It takes time to find the right images and places to thread the project together.

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

From an editorial point of view, what choices guided you in the selection of the final portfolio?

I choose images that illustrate my concept, they work together and will stay together in the long run. It’s about choosing the stronger images that can be interwoven without competing with themselves and thus becoming a whole.

How does this work fit in your identity statement as a photographer and if relates any with your previous works?

ES: “Never Far Removed” along with other of my artistic projects follow a constant pursuit where I try to identify points of contact with other species. Within that quest my process explores the interactions that arise between humanity and nature seeking to question my own understanding of the environment and how to fit myself within it.

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

Tell us about your approach to photography in general. How did it all start? What are your memories of your first shots? How did it evolve from the early days?

ES: Ever since I was young I had a camera with me, I believe I was influenced by my father and grandmother who since I can remember always carried a camera on them. My first shots involved my pet companions and other animals/plants. I remember wanting to be a National Geographic photographer, and later through mentors that showed me ways of reading and experiencing photographs in a deeper meaningful way. My practice shifted beyond just taking a photograph to feeling and sensing how that image was going to be conceived and experienced.

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

What about your educational path? Did it have any impact on you? Any lessons learned?

ES: I currently hold an MFA in Photography from Hartford University and a diploma on Wildlife and Forestry Conservation. Beyond the titles that educational paths bring, I found that the process that my work and myself went through was the most rewarding. The process itself made me question my role as an artist and the way I approached my work. So in a way I could say learning has always challenged my way of being and it becomes a constant reminder to not be static in my way of thinking and producing.

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

From a methodological point of view, what is your approach to the medium? How do you envision or conceptualize the projects?

ES: As an artist I use different mediums to convey my ideas. I use photography because of its successful way of portraying a human-like experience of reality. In my practice the camera is fundamental, I approach the space and subjects at first always with photography that I later digest and review in my studio. Sometimes a photograph will become a holder for future ideas or projects.

The scenario in which photography is presented and discussed have changed considerably in recent years with the spread of ICT and the digital world. How do you relate to social networks and this expanded field of photography?

ES: I find that social networks are a double edge sword. On one point it is a great way to showcase your work to a broader audience but can also bring bad consequences to the artist’s process, influencing the way it works or creates. Digital media is consumed so fast that most of the work out there is never really ´seen´. I believe that acceleration is a big issue in western-minded societies in a broader sense, beyond just the digital realm. It’s not easy to pursue the authorial path, it requires time, energy and resources.

© Ernesto Solana from the serie "Never Far Removed"

What strategies do you adopt?

ES: I try to keep true and constant with myself, always admiring what others have done before me and what is being done now. I believe that my own process and ways at the end will bring my agency to the work and hopefully that will resonate with others beyond the authorial path.

Any interesting books that you recommend and that recently inspired you and why?

ES: These two books have been influencing my thoughts this year: "How Forest Think: Toward an Anthropology beyond the Human" by Eduardo Kohn and "Fossil Aesthetics: Imaginaries of Ecosocial Energy and Crisis" by Jaime Vindel. Both portray ways of seeing and understating the world that are sometimes hard to access in everyday life, I found it beautiful to be remembered that there is much more than just the human.

How important is to showcase your work? What about exhibitions or other forms? Any tips or experience to share?

ES: Exhibitions are a great way to think of my work in dialogue with different scales and compositions. It’s always nice to feel the materiality that encompasses the medium of photography, especially nowadays that a lot of the process involves the digital realm. I would encourage people to test spaces, if an exhibition is not on the horizon you could always use other physical spaces to try and envision how the work could exist.

Who or what does influence your work in particular? Is there any contemporary artist, photographer or writer you’d like to quote or mention?

ES: There are many artists/writers that have influenced my work like Ana Mendieta, Taryn Simon, Mark Dion, Donna Haraway, Anna Tsing to name a few. Anna Tsing once said “As contamination changes world-making projects, mutual worlds—and new directions—may emerge.” Tell us more about your equipment and research… For the last 5 years I’ve been using a Nikon D850 with a 50 mm lens and a Leica Sofort instant camera. The decision for a 50 mm lens comes from a past struggle in my way of photography. I had become too passive and this lens forced me to move around my subject more in order to find a better way of portraying it. Before visiting places that interest me I methodically research them, with the intention of experiencing the landscape with a sense of the stories and beings that inhabit it. This way I can add my own physical experience to the encounter and thus enrich the process. I also find it meaningful to share my work and process with colleagues. It helps me and understand how the work is perceived outside of myself.

Ernesto Solana (website)
Winner Urbanautica Institute Awards 2021