Gender Rebels photographer turns out to be very photogenic
Iratxe Alvarez with her wonder camera.
Our presentation in Belgium, in Ghent in November, is of course accompanied by a Flemish PR campaign. You can see the first result here: our photographer Iratxe Álvarez, who so beautifully captured ten young women very naturally for the book, is now in front of the camera herself. She seems quite relaxed.
Below you will find the interview by Marc Faes of the Flemish InternetGazet, who also took the beautiful photo.
The Dutch Sybilla Claus is an anthropologist, political analyst, and journalist who worked for De Telegraaf, among others. She is not a photographer; for her most recent book 'Gender Rebels she called upon Iratxe Alvarez, a photographer from Pelt. The book deals with all the problems that 'girls of the current generation' struggle with. They have never felt so insecure and depressed. About 40 women contributed to the book, and Iratxe portrayed ten of them.
We spoke with Iratxe in De Stroming. Iratxe is originally from Spanish Valencia, studied in Germany, but eventually settled in Pelt with her family in 2016. She has been involved in photography for at least 20 years, and it has also been her profession for 14 years. She always finds the story behind the person important; photo-shoots are, for her, one of the best ways to tell that story. When she photographs someone, she wants to have listened to them first; the 'seeing' only becomes important afterwards. That is how, according to Iratxe, the strongest images are created.
She enjoys taking portraits; through personal contact, she always aims to make the person forget that there is a camera between them. For the book, she had the girls and young women take off their shoes and socks, knowing that they would be more at ease sitting than standing. Beyond that, she also enjoys working on foto-shoots of events, families, and companies. For families, she works with the 'Day in the Life' concept, where she takes photos for a full day without any posing. This creates a unique memory of their real daily life.
Activist
The fact that Iratxe takes photos for MO* magazine and the NGO Home-Start Vlaanderen (which supports disadvantaged families) is no coincidence. She also calls herself an activist. For MO* magazine, she also takes portraits of famous people. The photos are always taken at people's homes, and she brings her entire mobile photo studio along every time. Such a shoot lasts one to two hours, but that has the advantage that the person being photographed appears relaxed in the picture.
In the world of images, there are many possibilities, so she never stops learning, Iratxe states. As a result, she continuously finds themes she wants to know more about. She is currently exploring the possibilities of AI, and therapy using images also interests her. She is proud of the photos in Sybilla Claus's book. It was more than a professional assignment, because the theme touches her as well.
Along with Sybilla, Iratxe is also concerned about the well-being of the young generation of women who often report being anxious or depressed, suffering from eating disorders, or engaging in self-harm. An interesting book on a subject that is not often discussed.
Read the original here or take a look at the website of Iratxe Álvarez.