"I fell in love with photography as a child. You could say it basically saved me. I've had a very special relationship with my great passion, which in the end has become my way of paying bills and my way of life."
While enjoying a pint of beer at the bar, Sergi Escribano explains how it all happened: "My father worked in a bakery in Les Corts and, there, "the fill del amo had a small laboratory where he developed his film rolls and printed them with an enlarger. When I went to see my father at work, they would let me go up to see him. That alchemy immediately captivated me. Imagine for a kid from the Barrio Chino to see that! Sometimes a man who also understood something about photography would pass by. My father always told me 'that man is a genius'. I didn't understand the meaning, but then, years later, I would know that he was referring to Joan Fontcuberta."
--The very same Joan Fontcuberta?
--Yes. And of course he is a genius.
The intense coffee-colored gaze of the patron glides from one side of the space to the other, over the dark circles typical of that insomnia characteristic of "the life of a freelancer in times of crisis," before focusing on specific points and capturing their light, shadow, shapes, and soul on the retina.
Returning to his activity, Sergi Escribano confesses to having experienced periods of disconnection between his passion and the obligations of the profession itself. "Let's say that I am much more creative when I fly free, something inherent to the human condition. I had no alternative, it's like love, and I knew perfectly well that it was not going to be easy or pleasant many times," argues the one who understands the act of photographing as something more than pressing a shutter button: "I am paid to observe. Seeing through a circle and capturing it in a rectangle is an art."
A finalist in prestigious competitions such as the StreetFoto San Francisco, the London Street Photography Festival, the Signo Editores Numen, the Smithsonian Photo Contest, the Street Photography of The Independent, the Caminos de Hierro (still awaiting judgment) and winner of the H20 / νερό / ὕδωρ/ water / aqua of the Corinth Exposed Photography, many artists ask to be portrayed by him: From the writer Paz Velasco, to the composer Marco Boi. "Something that gives me deep satisfaction is seeing the client's surprised face when delivering a job. Sometimes (very few!) the opposite happens," he laughs, about to order another pint.
The novelty is that, from July 10 to 17, the photographer will participate in the Kronos Art BCN´21 festival, with an exhibition and sale of photographic work through a charity auction at Arts Santa Mònica. "You can't miss it, friends!" he exclaims, raising his glass.
Starting over
A few years ago, Sergi Escribano had to learn to walk again after an accident. "I had just finished a still photography job for a film, I was doing several corporate reports and I had a series of personal projects underway, everything was going swimmingly and, suddenly, there I was: a lot of screws in my spine and an indescribable pain. Then another pain would come, much deeper."
It was during that ill-fated time that he claims to have taken the most photos. "I didn't use a camera. I took them for myself, I keep some in my mind." And he adds the importance that, for him, "the fact of always having had a very important support, my son's mother, Ana," has.
A child of the Barrio Chino
"I am a hard worker, one more from the working class born and raised in the Barrio Chino among thugs, prostitutes, hooligans and good people, too. I was a child at a time when 'the horse and the Grim Reaper' made systematic personalized visits, block by block, landing by landing. Unfortunately, I lived through terrible episodes in my adolescence, I saw things that I hope my son never sees. There was systematic violence." For this reason, Sergi Escribano has never been interested in conflict photography. "When you live certain situations up close, the last thing you want is to see them again, much less portray them."
--Have you moved away from that in your life?
--To a certain extent. Although I have lived in a few cities, my life is marked by a regular tetrahedron whose base would be the Barrio Chino, Sant Antoni and Poble Sec. Even thousands of kilometers away I have felt the call of that magnetism, your body gravitates elsewhere, but your mind and heart are anchored to that place.
Nevertheless, the photographer confesses to feeling how that tetrahedron "is crumbling" and laments "that Barcelona has become a theme park, a low cost product for flip-flop-wearing, drunken tourism and at the same time a luxury product for its residents. It saddens me enormously to see many days streets closed and militarized in Poble Sec, to evict families with children. Please write it down well, that disgusts me and causes me infinite sadness." After these words, Sergi remains silent, pondering, while finishing his second pint.
--"Will you want anything else? Today the house is inviting."
--"Well, since it's on the house, I'll put on the checkered napkin and order a menu with dessert and carajillo included. You have to take advantage!"