Image: FOMU Photo Museum Antwerp
Developed in close collaboration with Graciela Iturbide, the exhibition brings together approximately 160 works, from iconic black-and-white photographs to rarely shown vintage prints, colour photographs and contact prints. Together, they offer an insight into more than 50 years of photographic work.
‘Eyes to Fly With’ centres on themes including identity, social relations and transience. Its title is inspired by one of Iturbide’s self-portraits and also refers to her view of photography as a way to explore both herself and the world.
Among the works are photographs of women in the Zapotec community in Oaxaca, where women occupy important social and economic roles. By placing them at the centre, Iturbide challenges traditional representations of gender. The series ‘White Fence’ examines how identity is shaped by ancestry, living conditions and migration, while also considering how communities continue to develop over time.
The survey also brings rituals, spirituality and everyday traditions into view. These include the series ‘La Matanza’, which concerns slaughter and sacrifice, as well as Iturbide’s work about the Seri people.
Iturbide’s intimate photographs of Frida Kahlo’s bathroom, which had remained sealed for years, are included alongside rarely shown works from India and Bangladesh.
