MK Gallery in Milton Keynes is presenting the first major UK retrospective of Chilean photographer Paz Err\u00e1zuriz, offering a long overdue institutional spotlight on the artist at the age of 81. <\/p>\n
Titled Dare to Look, the exhibition features 171 photographs spanning five decades of Err\u00e1zuriz\u2019s career. Known for documenting marginalised communities in Chile, the self-taught photographer has built an acclaimed body of work that challenges social norms and official histories.<\/p>\n
Despite international recognition\u2014including exhibitions at the Venice Biennale and acquisitions by Tate, MoMA and the Reina Sof\u00eda\u2014Err\u00e1zuriz had never previously been the subject of a solo show in a British institution. \u201cEven late in life, recognition is possible,\u201d she says. \u201cHow long does it take for a woman to be recognised for her work?\u201d<\/p>\n
Err\u00e1zuriz was born in Santiago in 1944. Though she hoped to study art, her parents disapproved, and she trained instead as a teacher. While studying at the Cambridge Institute of Education in the early 1970s, she longed for a camera but could not afford one.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to have my camera,\u201d she says. \u201cBut my life was that of a student\u2014I couldn\u2019t afford it.\u201d She only began photographing seriously later in Chile, inspired by a friend’s father who had a darkroom.<\/p>\n
Her early instinct was always towards people. \u201cI don\u2019t do landscapes,\u201d she explains. \u201cIt\u2019s how to get to people. And I found out that the camera was the best tool I had in my hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following the 1973 military coup, Err\u00e1zuriz lost her teaching job and turned to photography full-time. She co-founded the Asociaci\u00f3n de Fot\u00f3grafos Independientes to document civil unrest and protect freelance photographers.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe weren\u2019t part of the newspapers. We were independent,\u201d she says. \u201cYou learn how to move, you have instincts. You smell when danger is near.\u201d<\/p>\n
Err\u00e1zuriz describes working under dictatorship as \u201clearning to speak in metaphors\u201d. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t planned,\u201d she explains, \u201cbut the result was naturally metaphorical.\u201d<\/p>\n
The photographer is known for her patient, immersive approach. \u201cNobody asked me to do this work,\u201d she says. \u201cI planned my way. I never photograph anyone straight away\u2014I talk, I record, I take notes. Sometimes it takes weeks. You have to be patient. You also have to be obsessed.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of her most moving series, El Infarto del Alma, depicts couples in a psychiatric hospital. Err\u00e1zuriz lived in the hospital for months. \u201cPhotography became a generous gesture for them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a real couple who lived together on the ward in the hospital. They wanted to get married. When I left, I gave them their portraits. They treated them like certificates of marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reflecting on seeing these images again, Err\u00e1zuriz says: \u201cSome are very sad. In Adam\u2019s Apple, most of the people died of AIDS. I know their stories\u2014I spent so much time with them. They\u2019re like my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what advice she\u2019d give her younger self, she sys: \u201cBe patient. Nothing is immediate. You must take time\u2014and believe in what you\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paz Err\u00e1zuriz: Dare to Look, MK Gallery, Milton Keynes, until 5 October<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MK Gallery in Milton Keynes is presenting the first major UK retrospective of Chilean photographer Paz Err\u00e1zuriz, offering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31474,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,1120,96,10993,19218,6487,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-31473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-exhibitions","tag-mk-gallery","tag-photography","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31473"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31473\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31474"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}