Jorge Luis Chavarría

JORGE LUIS CHAVARRÍA (Guatemala, 1978).
"Ace of Diamonds," from the "Heroes and Demons" series, 2010.
Photographic scan, print on cotton paper.
Unsigned.
Edition of 7 + 2PA.
Certificate included.
Measurements: 50.5 × 50 cm (image); 56.5 × 56 cm (paper).

The wrestler in this photograph poses head-on against a crumbling wall, with a resolute demeanor reinforced by his mask, purple-and-yellow costume, and the intense shadow cast behind him. By excluding the audience and the ring, Chavarría contrasts the character’s artifice with the austerity of the setting and positions the portrait between heroic affirmation and documentary observation.

Jorge Luis Chavarría is a Guatemalan artist and photographer whose work explores identity, gender, culture, and various social phenomena through the mediums of documentary photography and contemporary art. “Lucha Diaria” has been presented at the ESFoto 11 Festival, the Capiusa Creative Center, and the Rozas Botrán Foundation; his work has also been exhibited at institutions and festivals in Guatemala, Spain, France, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.