"From a very young age, when I changed cameras or bought a new one, I had it by my bed for several days. I observed it without daring to turn it on. It was a new object that, little by little, became an extension of me, something that even protected me. (...) It was the serenity of being able to express what you feel. It was me, it (the camera) and the rest." With these words, photographer Pilar Aymerich addressed photographers, professionals and visual culture lovers this Wednesday during the inauguration of the new Fujifilm House of Photography —officially House of Photography—, a concept that the Japanese company has implemented in Barcelona to redefine the photographic experience and reclaim the image as a form of expression, encounter and creation.
The Barcelona House of Photography is the second to open in Europe and the sixth worldwide. It is preceded by those in London, Sydney, Mexico, Hong Kong and Korea. The space, artistic and experiential in nature, is located at number 1 Gran de Gràcia, where Fujifilm's Wonder Photo Shop used to be. In it, creativity, technology and passion for the image come together to offer a new meeting point for professionals and photography enthusiasts.
The objective? To merge the magic and technique of photography to offer a complete experience. Beyond product sales, the space will host workshops, activities, camera tests and art exhibitions, consolidating itself as a meeting point for the photographic community.
The inauguration has been dressed up with a first exhibition of the space that brings together two perspectives on the same city: that of Pilar Aymerich and that of Toni Amengual. "Both of us tell a story that has to do with the passage of time," Aymerich explained. "With fifty years of difference, the city has changed… and so has the gaze."
The exhibition, open from November 6 to December 12, proposes a visual dialogue between generations, times and sensibilities. Aymerich's photographs are living memory of hope and struggle; Amengual's, a contemporary reflection of present-day Barcelona.
More than an exhibition, it is an exercise in shared memory that asks what remains of that Barcelona that dreamed of being different. At the same time, it is also a declaration of intent on the part of Fujifilm: to turn this space into a point of connection between art and technology, between past and future, between those who look and those who are looked at, with a common scenario: Barcelona.