Finding Paradise in Photography
© Alessandro Bo
“I'm one of those [people] that needs to escape quite often. At the moment it's really hard for me because I’m not able to,” Alessandro Bo, photographer and Ecuador-local says. Alessandro Bo’s series, Exotica, a fantastical reinterpretation of travel photography is a painful reminder of his pre-COVID-19 artistic process that led him on photography-driven adventures across Mexico. “I'm completely in the moment and I absorb what there is in a moment and what that place gives me. I do not plan these kinds of projects – they lead me,” he tells me over a Zoom call from Ecuador where he is now virtually trapped. These Covid-related travel restrictions and shelter-in-place orders certainly zap the spontaneity out of a summer we joke together. “Planning” doesn’t seem all that bad anymore.
© Alessandro Bo
Alessandro tells me stories about getting eaten alive by mosquitos and splitting his foot open on sharp oysters – his bloodied foot is one of the photographs he shares with me. He laughs jubilantly as he recounts these exploits. “You don’t understand,” he says, “the battle against the mosquito – I live for that.” Humor is an important part of his work, he explains, and his brazen light-heartedness is evident in the campy nature of his photographs, some of which are staged for this purpose.
The origin of the project was sparked by a book Alessandro read about travelers that arrived in Mexico in the mid 1900’s in search of adventure and nature. His own family arrived from Germany around the same time and kept records of their journey. “My great grandfather worked in mines, also in oil, and in coffee. I decided to do a motorcycle trip by myself. I went to places that were in his journals and did my own version of what I read. I stopped in many parts in the jungle, for example, in Chiapas, and Oaxaca, and the South peninsula.” You can feel Alessandro’s passion for adventure in his series – an amalgamate of grotesque, yet lush images that leave you with an enigmatic and fragmented peephole into the unseen jungles of Mexico.
© Alessandro Bo
“People are always looking for their own paradise,” Alessandro says. “It might not exist.” His photos show you the alternative. Even though Alessandro’s adventure is on a momentary and forced hiatus – does not mean this project is finished. Exotica is a work in progress that will continue to reimagine and novelize travelers who dare to explore Mexico’s wild territories.
From the confines of our bedrooms, living rooms, and enclosed balconies, it seems as if we are all searching for our paradise – or at least an alternative to our present reality. “I'm in a country that I didn't even get to know because the pandemic came just when I arrived. I don't know any people. It’s a pretty strange moment.” For now, perhaps we can use art – and Alessandro’s photo series – to transport ourselves to better places.
You can view more of Alessandro Bo’s work here.
