I am light

Jesús Madriñán (Santiago de Compostela, 1984) has one of the sharpest eyes for photography of the current panorama. His work has focused primarily on a reinterpretation of the portrait understood as an intermediate link between the psychological genre and the archive of typologies. His various series have addressed aspects of the nightclub scene in major European cities ("Good Night London", 2011, or "Dopo Roma", 2016) and in rural areas ("Boas noites", 2013). His way of working is very meticulous and precise; he uses a large format camera and analogical film, which makes his reporting work, associated with speed, even more complex.

This project, fruit of the collaboration between Xacobeo and CGAC, is conceived as a renovation and updating of the perspective on the reality of the Way of St James and its pilgrims.

“As a native of Compostela, I have always had close ties with the Way of St James. Since I was born, I have formed part of that coming and going of people, arriving from all corners of the globe, who have shaped what Santiago is today, and the route that is the backbone of stories and cultures, the Way of St James. This reality that surrounds me, understood as an essential part of the social and cultural fabric of the place in which I live, is the linchpin of this new project, a project that takes the Way of St James as a framework for action to create a collection of photographs that capture the essence of an era, of a moment in time.

As a kind of diary, the project emerged from my own experience as just another pilgrim, capturing identities as they crop up on my days walking the trail. Through them I aim to register the diversity and the tolerance present today, and, by extension, also on the pilgrim trail, witness to new flourishing and progressive generations who, despite everything, decide to embark on this secular journey with respect, spirituality and progress.”