Feature of the Week: Andrea Mato

Andrea Mato is a Venezuelan photographer who carefully examines the micro geographies of the urban landscape. Her unusual perspectives defamiliarize everyday surfaces, creating a visual map that grants importance to the mundane. Andrea collaborates with the imprecise nature of photography as a tool to embody a rhythm in my work that embraces the continual change and ephemeral nature of her findings.

“To walk outside is a privilege. Growing up alert of my surroundings and feeling unsafe to walk freely on the streets of Caracas taught me to look carefully, which trained my photographic eye. Presented with a foreign environment, Brooklyn, I apply my observational scrutiny while walking in the streets with a camera to discover small worlds contained inside the larger one and this way showing the ignored details of Brooklyn's streets as meaningful. It only takes to get closer, alter our perspective, and be open to unexpected encounters to experience the relationships that arise in the hidden world that every city or town possesses.”

“Since the beginning of the pandemic, I began to develop and scan my medium format photographs at Brooklyn Community Darkroom. I thought that it was an excellent idea to have the drop off system outside of the darkroom as a social distancing measure implemented since the beginning of the crisis. I also support BCD's values of supporting non-represented communities during these complicated times, as I am a Venezuelan woman displaced from her home country.”

“During devastating times such as the ones we are going through right now, I encounter myself with a decayed, scarred landscape, one filled with references to isolation, systematic racism, and fear. By following my instinctual call, I gain a new awareness of the urban landscape, a hidden reality that I set myself to uncover and present to the world. I hope my images can spark some curiosity and interest in the streets when we feel that all hope is lost. “

“Photography is all about collaborating with what is already existent in front of us. In this way, I believe the streets are my biggest partner, and photography allows me to sustain a conversation with the existent shapes and objects that I encounter in my walks. I find my dialogue with the streets to become more interesting when I experiment with the tools that cameras provide us such as looking at something very closely, with a different lens, or emphasizing reflections that with a camera would not be as apparent.”

Instagram: @andreamatom

Website: https://www.andreamato.com/