[dropcap letter="A"]
Sometimes nothing is what it seems (or seems more than it is). I wanted to start this report with the letter 'a' (if you keep reading you'll understand why). In the universe of Jordi Larroch (Barcelona, 1978), the elements he tunes and then photographs take on unsuspected dimensions. His goal is to invite the mind to play. With imagination. With meanings perhaps not so obvious. With the double... No, no wait... with the many interpretations that images provide, making you go from surprise to reflection.
"It's hard for me to feel like a poet, even a photographer or an artist. These are words I have a lot of respect for. Besides, poets are usually older people and I feel more comfortable with stories, so if you want, I'm a... storyteller!"It's time for'(RECREATION)'. Thus, in parentheses and in capital letters. This is how the artist titles his new exhibition. "It's a play on words: 'recreo' refers to the schoolyard, hence the parentheses. It's a break between classes, when in theory you stop learning (and boy do you learn about other subjects). It's time for leisure, for fun. 'Recreo' also comes from 'crear' (to create); from 'recrear' (to recreate), to recreate yourself, to reinvent yourself. And from this concept everything else emerged. I want people to free their minds with these photographs," explains Jordi. In his new exhibition, he includes a total of 25, although under this same premise he took 40. And you will find them exhibited at the Centre Cívic Golferichs in Barcelona (admission is free).
The most overused term for this type of photography is "visual poetry." But Jordi Larroch is so modest that he prefers to opt for others like "plastic metaphors." "It's just that I find it hard to feel like a poet, even a photographer or an artist. These are words I have a lot of respect for. Besides, poets are usually older people and I feel more comfortable with stories, so if you want, I'm a... storyteller! Although don't think that stories don't also command my respect, huh? Who as a child hasn't picked up a broom to use it as a microphone? The object itself has this capacity to evoke dreams. Or perhaps what I do are fables, which are even shorter than stories. But wait, then I derive the word and I'm 'fabulous.' No, no, even less so," he laughs in the middle of the exhibition hall surrounded by his fabulous (he can say what he wants) photographs.
That Jordi Larroch is a conceptual photographer and masters the use of emotions so well is the result of many years dedicated to art, even if in different disciplines. "I studied music at the Taller de Músics in Barcelona. I wanted to be a drummer. For love, I went to live in Pamplona and couldn't find a job, so I started communicating through photography."Another constant Jordi faces is the tiresome comparisons with Chema Madoz. "There is little photographic culture and the same names always end up being mentioned, but before there were others like Daniel Gil, who did the covers for Alianza Editorial," he clarifies. The truth is that it is inevitable to resort to totemic references (even if he dislikes it). "And then there are the purists who get annoyed when we title photographs, that we use words when the image already speaks for itself –he adds-: In reality, it seems like an absurd and retrograde debate to me. The title is not in the middle of the work. It's just another option. Another tool to play with."
He is absolutely right. In fact, I recommend pausing to look at the ingenious and revealing titles of his prints. Let me give an example: 'The hidden idea' is how he baptizes a nutcracker placed upside down. At least, this is what you see at first glance. But the light bulb (literally) turns on when you observe the shape that remains underneath, inside the utensil: it is one of the classic ones, with a screw thread. In short, the title gives you an 'idea' of how to see the light.
That Jordi Larroch is a conceptual photographer and masters the use of emotions so well is the result of many years dedicated to art, even if in different disciplines. "I studied music at the Taller de Músics in Barcelona. I wanted to be a drummer. For love, I moved to Pamplona and couldn't find work, so I started communicating through photography. I created an Instagram profile called Para 4 gatos where I uploaded photos I took on the street, with more or less funny titles. It worked well and some people asked me if I was a scriptwriter. The thing is, I then got several small jobs that prevented me from going out as much, and I started taking photos at home. Some were genuine nonsense, with a touch of humor. One day Chema Madoz gave me the book 'Obras maestras' and I remembered that when I was 17, I saw the exhibition Chema Madoz y Joan Brossa (Fotopoemario) and I thought I already knew what they were saying. That I could also use that language. Besides, I've always been obsessed with the letter 'a'. My two children's names start with 'A'. And I have two 'a's tattooed on my arm -he recounts while showing them to me-. And Brossa (considered one of the fathers of the object poem) played a lot with this same letter. Following Madoz's book, I locked myself in a room and started taking photos non-stop, vomiting them out at full speed. In one year, I managed to take 500. I uploaded them to social media and saw that people liked them. Word of mouth started to work and I was able to dedicate myself to this."
Music, in a way, he has not abandoned, as it sneaks into several of his photographs. In '(RECREO)', he titles broken glasses that you immediately associate with John Lennon's 'Imagine'. A pacifier customized with a mini metal basin à la Quijote is named 'Esos locos bajitos' as a clear nod to Serrat. And a Vetusta Morla vinyl (the detail of who the record belongs to I extract out of curiosity) serves as a wing for a black hat in 'Harmonía'.
Childhood, his own and that of his children, is very present in '(RECREO)'. "Each photo has a personal experience behind it and speaks of the passage of time, of how it slips away from us, of how we should not miss the opportunity to enjoy it"His high-flying imagination does not go unnoticed. And he's had an artistic streak since he was a child. "At 4 years old, they already signed me up for drawing classes because the teacher said I was good at it. At home, when they punished me to my room, locked in, for me it was wonderful. It was exactly what I wanted: to lock myself in and draw. Then I started writing. I won school contests but refused to collect the prizes. On one occasion, I asked them to give me second place so I wouldn't have to go through that ordeal."
Childhood, his own and that of his children, is very present in '(RECREO)'. "Each photo has a personal experience behind it and speaks of the passage of time, of how it slips away from us, of how we should not miss the opportunity to enjoy it." Another detail to keep in mind is that "in none of the images is there a photographic montage, everything is real! All the objects exist... still. Well, except for this apple that has rotted, of course" [the apple in question has a fishhook instead of the usual stem and is titled 'The Sin']. Let it be clear: Jordi Larroch does not use Photoshop. "In fact, I've switched to analog to be even more detailed. I have to take 12 photos and make the most of them, look for the perfect light."
Life is too short to only see photos of influencers on Instagram, don't you think? "I'm very clear about it: the biggest influencer there is is the yawn: if I yawn, you yawn, and by doing so, you'll lack oxygen in your brain. As a concept itself, it bores me." For Larroch, Instagram [jordi.larroch] is a platform that allows him to share his work. "I use it because it gives me play. And it gives me the option of Insta stories and making gifts."
In his parallel black and white universes, there are several domino pieces where the dots can come to life or symbolize death. In one of these gifs he mentions, the six dots are moving eyes. But another photograph, called 'The Wall', arose after a conversation about Trump. "It occurred to me to take a piece with a six on one side and white on the other, and transform the line in the middle into barbed wire like those used to prevent the entry of immigrants."
Photography as a record of memory (and beyond). Beauty, poetry, denunciation, realities to transform, symbology and minimalism in the midst of a digital downpour. The objects he uses are stripped of superfluous ornamentation and when he brings them together it is to give them new meaning. His visual narrative is playful, delicate, impactful. Amusing or critical. Lucid and witty. And always, always, it invites you to dream.