Almeria en la mirada ENG José María Mellado

Images on the façade of this building in the centre of Almeria that are part of the exhibition and outdoor photographic route of the author José María Mellado. EFE / Carlos Barba

ALMERÍA EN LA MIRADA

On Monday, May 13th, José María Mellado’s most recent exhibition, “Almería en la mirada”, was inaugurated. The exhibition, unprecedented in Spain due to its subject matter and layout, takes a physical and visual journey through everyday situations and characters in the historic Almeria neighbourhoods of La Chanca-Pescadería, the Almedina Historic Centre and the City Centre, through a series of monumental photographs arranged on an open-air route through the city.The exhibition has been carried out thanks, among others, to the Andalusian Center of Photography in collaboration with the Grupo Indalo Foto Association, the City Council of Almeria, as well as with the participation of the Junta de Andalucía and the European Union through the European Regional Development Funds. For this exhibition, a total of 20 photographs were carefully arranged on party walls, plots and deteriorated facades in the aforementioned neighborhoods, starting with an impressive 18-meter-high canvas on Lachambre Street and tracing a winding route of approximately three kilometers through historic Almeria.

“On this occasion – which is certainly not the first – he has taken his gaze as a seasoned photographer for a walk through the streets and the most genuine neighbourhoods of his hometown… From this work we can admire not only the usual quality of his photographs, but also the curious game that he proposes to us… Mellado has placed his photos at different points from where they were taken, and in doing so he shows at the same time a truly remarkable sense of composition and visual instinct. In this way, panoramas and perspectives produce in those who contemplate them an effect of surprise that helps them to look at the city with new and renewed eyes.” ¹

Full text José Luis López Bretones

José María Mellado, as a native of Almeria with deep knowledge and connection with these neighborhoods and their contexts, has contributed significantly to generating a particular vision of this initiative, which is once again framed within the CAMINA project. With the images he brings together in this exhibition, he focuses on the importance of revitalizing forgotten spaces and restoring them to their splendour. In this sense, “Almeria in the Gaze” opens up new perspectives to promote a dialogue between the community and its urban environment.

The installations create a visual mosaic that ranges from aerial views to intimate portraits of the neighborhood’s inhabitants. The installation entitled “Concordia” is striking, located in a historic house in the Plaza de Granero and made up of 14 photographic panels, which stands out for its innovative inclusion of portraits of neighbors, peeking out of the portals, doors and balconies, bringing a new dimension of life and community to the city space from the vision of urban art. “It’s the most complicated layout, it took a lot of work. There have been small layouts and exhibitions and other large exhibitions of painting and graffiti. But nothing so great with photography as an artistic element. We are using the city as an exhibition hall and the walls as a canvas,” the author stresses..²

The idea for this project arises from the exhibition “Caminando”, held in December 2023 at the Carlos Pérez Siquier School of Art, as part of the first edition of the CAMINA Project – which seeks to connect citizen collectives and urban spaces through cultural activities and urban interventions – in collaboration with the Junta de Andalucía and the City Council of Almeria. In this project and exhibition, a series of activities were developed that not only energized the city, but also highlighted the beauty and uniqueness of its most emblematic neighborhoods. Although, at the time, “Caminando” included 20 photographs by José María Mellado along with another 20 by different participants, all of them captured in the neighborhoods of La Chanca-Pescadería, Almedina-Casco Histórico and Centro Ciudad; On this occasion, for “Almería en la mirada” the aim was to take a different step and take the exhibition and art to the street, turning the neighbourhood into a stage. “We wanted to make a compilation of images and situations of the Old Town, La Chanca and Pescadería that would be attractive”, confesses the author himself, to “bring down the glass wall that stops many Almeria residents from walking and enjoying their historic area”³.

To complement the “Almeria in the Gaze” experience, an interactive website has been developed that provides detailed information about each work and its location on the map. This virtual tour can be consulted on the www.almeriacamina.es website. During the exhibition, visitors will be able to walk the exhibition route that includes the following locations:

We are grateful for the commitment of those who have made this initiative possible. We look forward to seeing you.