It doesn’t take a trained eye to see what turmoil our world is going through at the moment. It does not take a college degree to become aware and create a voice to oppose the injustices and to stand up for those less fortunate. It doesn’t take any particular courage to hide behind masks while pointing a finger in blame.

It does on the other hand take a unique type of person to translate all of these issues and convert them into a dialogue coherent enough to transcend mundane dialogue. It takes an acute perception of that which surrounds us in order to build up inspiration leading to form. It takes extreme courage to put down those masks and stand naked for all to judge.

But, above all, It takes a willing and esurient audience to turn what could be a simple presentation into a meaningful colloquy; a sermon into the most creatively ambitious debate.

It takes appreciation.

My work isn’t meant to be a poetic soliloquy here exclusively to tantalize. It is an invitation to respond, to react, to provoke, to enrage, to converse, to commit, and hopefully to inspire the washing away from the soul the dust of everyday life in order to transform simple words into the most purest form of song.

I am appreciative.

EINS (ONE) is a series of digital photography prints, divided into panels, which have been taken all over the world, in countries which include Myanmar, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, Iceland and Mexico. They are moments, brief glimpses into the solitary journey of the human soul and our relationship with the world surrounding us. Each photo tells one particular story, but as a group, they give us an idea of the injustices of our world on a more global scale. A step taken today is the result of many steps taken in the past, and so, I also include historical, political and social issues regarding each country into every image. By superimposing photographs, a dialogue is created which goes far beyond the superficial beauty of a place, a person or a moment. That said, I always try to stay faithful to the aesthetics of the piece. I do not seek to shock through sensationalism, but with my images I converse with the spectator, immerse them in realities distant from their own, leaving them with a lasting impression and hopefully, an experience which will make them more aware of what is out there. My only instruments of work are a point and shoot camera and a voice. I do add texture to the photos once superimposed (make them more grainy, add noise, burn some images) in order to recreate even further the imperfection of the world we live in. EINS (ONE) is our world and we are all a part of it.

The innocent, breathtaking smile of a girl in Bagan, Myanmar, her eyes full of hope, juxtaposed with the exact same image only now superimposed in writing are the four points of the infamous "people's desire" created by the totalitarian government of Myanmar. One of the points being: "Crush all external and internal elements as the common enemy." Hope where there is no hope allowed.

A native Indian woman walks slowly down a road in Valladolid, Mexico, her head covered from the heat by a sky blue shawl. The terracotta wall in the background with it's natural white‐washed stains speaks of the firing squads of the Spanish and the bloodshed when the conquistadores arrived to demolish the ancient Mexican cultures. Suddenly the woman seems to be hiding in shame of her past, walking away from what was on her way towards the desire of what could be. Conquest, colonialism; the strong overpowering the weak.

In Kampong Kleang, Cambodia, an entire village lives on stilted shacks, their nutrition coming from the same waters they use to clean their clothes, wash their dishes and empty their bowels. Superimposed with images of new buildings, traffic and a contract for a holiday house in the south of Florida, one questions the importance of the banalities we so often take for granted.

Tonle Sap lake at dawn and the beauty of just one, small fishing boat sailing off into the distance. An image so relaxing it becomes haunting as it's impossible to forget that only a few yards away there are still human remains in the hidden killing fields of the former Pol Pot regime, and to this day we know nothing of thousands of missing Cambodian children. Can we simply sit and forget?

The starving children of Soweto, begging children monks in Thailand and a famished child in Mandalay superimposed with neon signs from Las Vegas advertising “all you can eat buffets” and you have a message that hits home in a much more effective manner. How dare we?

The women of India, covered from the heat, doing hard labour and carrying desperately heavy loads of clay, stones and more to flatten and create roads and pavements. They toil on without even a comment amongst them. They are well trained, well directed like a handler controls his dogs. Something to simply sit back and accept, or perhaps a helping hand would make it all more comprehensible.

The backward country of Iceland and the infinite amount of issues they must deal with at the moment. Their people are as in a daze and find it almost impossible to explain what has happened, and above all, what is to occur in the future. I had prepared some ideas for images before traveling to the remote country and they all ended up in the rubbish. What freedom Iceland needs at this moment is comprehension, a common voice to help understand. The breathtaking landscapes brought me immediately to focus on sign language, sheep and Braille. How to help, give freedom to a people that don’t speak the same language amongst themselves?

Like these, other images bring us face to face with a world that is far from perfect, far from free, far from peaceful. To walk on this planet without truly observing, questioning and getting involved is a crime, and yet one can never give up hope that something can be done to bring about freedom and change.

Again, I do not preach, I share. I do not blame, I expose. I do not hide, I reveal. It is important to share that which I have always been so fortunate to know… this world. It’s reality affects us all and yet not everyone has the possibility to live it so first‐hand. I also believe it important to help in ways that are truly needed. Talking will do nothing more than take us further from all the help needed. We must sit back, listen, and then maybe, just maybe we’ll know where the help is needed and how we can help achieve that help. Freedom is not the same for all, and it will only be when we respect everyone’s form of freedom that we too will be truly free.

I am appreciative.

Artist Statement

Basically what I'm doing here is continuing my research into the human spirit in this journey we call 'life' and trying to parlay that journey into images. The photos taken here in China are concentrated on buildings, overcrowded spaces and the lack of intimacy; invasion, voyeurism and the obsession of the east with the west and vice-versa; duality, suffocation and the place we each occupy as human beings. China is a country of contrasts: The old with the new, the sparsity with the opulence, the “in-your-face” with the hush-hush of a society still repressed by a silent and veiled regime. The world has it's eyes on China but at the same time the Chinese have had, and will always have their eyes, and ears, and hands, and feet, and soul all over the world. I try to steer far from commonplace, cliché and basic knowledge. I don't wish to just chew and regurgitate. China is home to many iconic images, many familiar traps into which international artists can easily fall prey. I hope to present an abstract dialogue of the China of today, of its' people and of their place not only overseas, but also within the realms of this ironclad society they've created, and with this dialogue I also hope to share my place in all of this. At times I feel we have more in common than suspected.

About

Alec was a finalist at these years International Celeste Prize and exhibited at the Alte AEG Fabrik in Berlin, Germany. He has also been selected to show several pieces from his series “EINS" during the award ceremony for the Global Orient Freedom to Create Prize at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in November. After a month in Iceland and another in China, Alec will be attending his third residency from January to April 2010 in Leipzig, Germany, with all of the work produced and his experiences documented in a new book being published for a show in late 2010 in Mexico entitled “In Residency” (En Residencia) curated by Alfonso Villareal.

www.alec360.com