And Into The Forest I Go
Alex Llovet brings us his most documentary-looking work, without losing the poetic and conceptual approach that characterizes him: a project developed over ten years, in the woods surrounding his home.
The forest is the archetype of the wild state, it represents the untamed and as such, it often becomes a place of escape, a refuge in which to hide and maintain anonymity. Because of its darkness and deep rootedness, it also symbolises the unconscious and an ancestral magical space in which to connect with the elemental powers that reside in it and to reconnect with unknown or forgotten parts of our being. In the forest you can escape from society, but not from yourself.
On the outskirts of Barcelona is one of the largest peri-urban parks in the world: the wooded mountain range of Collserola. A place of escape but also a promised land, in the middle of the last century the first settlers arrived here escaping from their places of origin in search of a new opportunity, turning these mountains into a kind of "Catalan farwest". Since then, many have ended up here, including the author, for very different reasons. But they all have something in common: they live among trees, immersed in the forest and in intimate relationship with it, so they have gradually domesticated it, modifying the territory to adapt it to their needs. The fact is that the proximity of the big city makes it easily accessible and therefore vulnerable. But the forest is powerful and has never ceased to exert invisible forces on its inhabitants, leaving its mark on both their homes and their spirit.
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Specifications
First edition: 500 copies
Photography, concept and editing: Alex Llovet
Design: Kentaro Terajima
Pre-press: Eugeni Gay
23 x 31 cm
82 colour photographs
156 pages
Printing: Artefacto (Bilbao)
Die-cut softcover Swiss binding, with a fabric-covered spine
Publication date: Spring 2024
A limited edition including a signed copy is also available here.---
About the author
Alex Llovet was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1974.
He studied humanities, film, and photography at the IEFC where he now Works as a professor. He has published seven photobooks and a novel, and has exhibited in many countries.
He is currently working on developing personal photographic projects characterized by the will to construct a conceptual poetic discourse, where subliming the everyday to uncover realities beyond appearances.
His awards include the Poylatam and Arts Libris, as well as finalist in Lucie Photobook Price and twice finalist in PhotoEspaña (all of them for best photobook); honourable mention in Nexofoto, finalist in Voies Off Arles, and winner of LensCulture Critics Choice, Life Framer and the AFTM and Olot Photo Grants, as well as special mention for best author's book in Arles (as editor).
He has given workshops and master classes at the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), EINA (University Centre for Design and Art), La Masana and the Fundació Joan Miró, among others. He also gives workshops on the creation of photobooks in his studio.
Llovet is represented by the agency creatiBEty and his work is part of public and private collections such as the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, the Fundació Banc de Sabadell, FotoColectania and the Carmen & Lluís Bassat Foundation, among others.
Llovet is co-founder and editor of the publishing house specialised in photobooks Ediciones Posibles.