Author: Cristina de Middel
Co-published with Editions Textuel
Design: Maricris Herrera
Texts: Pedro Anza & Cristina de Middel
Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 176
Images: 150
Size: 20 x 30 cm / 7.9 x 11.8 in
Language: English edition with a Spanish insert
Publication year: 2024
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Cristina de Middel develops images that encourage reflection in the viewer. Her photographic essay “Journey to the Center”, which investigates phenomena related to the migration route through Mexico, has an atmosphere and symbolism inspired by Jules Verne’s famous novel “Journey to the Center of the Earth”.
With a language that combines straight documentary photography with constructed images and archival material, the narrative becomes multi-layered.
The migratory route through Central America is portrayed as a heroic and daring journey. Mexico, the setting for this adventure, is presented as the fascinating and extreme country that it is.
With an exhibition at Rencontres d’Arles 2024 and the image of the official Arles 2024 poster:
Cristina de Middel has been travelling for years with migrants on the train they call “the beast”, interviewing sicarios (hired killers), talking for hours with “coyotes” (clandestine smugglers) and police officers. By combining her own photographs with objects found in the desert and archive footage, she creates a multi-layered narrative.