Aitor Ortiz

Aitor Ortiz - Link 012

Técnica: Papel Photography Hahnemuhle, Marco

Biografía del Artista: Bilbao, Spain. 1971 Beyond documentary photography of architecture and industry, claiming the dilution factor and the transmutation of reality that is associated with photographic representation, Aitor Ortiz works with space, architecture and objects as elements that give rise to a series of visual and cognitive strangers. Ortiz is repeatedly interested in posing a series of dilemmas between representation and interpretation (perception) and establishes a relationship between the content of his images, the physical properties of the materials on which he reproduces his work and the position of the pieces in the exhibition space. Aitor Ortiz seeks to establish a broad spectrum of works and the relationships between the places photographed, the conscious and subconscious mechanisms involved in the process of manipulating an image: the eye (interpretation, frame, contextualization...), the camera (focus/blur, optical distortion, transmission of movement...) and the brain (the limitations of an imperfect artefact in the interpretation of data and empirical skills: experience, association of concepts...) that culminate in the exhibition space, where the physical experience once again transcends the content of his photographs as part of a process of constant interaction between representation and the perception of the viewer. His most recent solo exhibitions include those held at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao (2011); Fotografiska (Swedish Museum of Photography, Stockholm, 2012) and the Community of Madrid at the Sala Canal de Isabel II, Madrid (2012). His work has earned him, among others, the City of Palma Prize, the ABC Photography Prize, the Grand Prize of Honor of the Alexandria Art Biennial (Egypt), and the First Prize of the Villa de Madrid Photography Prize. His works are part of collections such as MNCARS, La Caixa Foundation, ARTIUM, CAB, IVAM, AXXA, Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, MACUF, Foto Colectania, Fundación Telefónica, etc.

The urban regeneration of the Zorrotzaurre industrial area in Bilbao has led to the recent relocation of the VICINAY chain factory after more than 60 years of activity. This marine chain factory, which has defined the urban landscape of the area, has produced, link by link, nearly 10,000 km of chain (the equivalent of the distance between the cities of Bilbao and Beijing). This has contributed decisively to the definition of a territory and the economic development of the area, generating wealth in the region. four generations of families and creating a bond with society. This work is a gesture, a transmission of that legacy of years of production, creation and social impact. A staging that, from absence, makes us reflect on the importance that this production center has had in defining its own emotional landscape: “The memory of the place.” The aim is to activate memory through space and the actions that have taken place there over the years, impregnating the factory facilities by sublimating the forms with which it has lived. The works resulting from this work reestablish the link between the factory and society, visible in the deformations and wrinkles caused by the dragging of thousands of tons of chains along the original steel floors of the plant for more than sixty years, as a metaphor for its activity. The image as a trace - the trace as an image