Exhibition Review: Rame Cuen, Sentiments and Emotions
Migrando en el espejo © Rame Cuen
Written by Jan Alex
Community, compassion, and empathy are all themes on display in Sentiments and Emotions, a new exhibit hosted by the Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo (CFMAB) in Oaxaca, Mexico, featuring previously unpublished photos by photographer Rame Cuen. The show is curated by Elisabeth Biondi, former Visuals Editor of The New Yorker, and presents more than 40 photographs and multidisciplinary works by the artist from several projects throughout his career. Situated in one of CFMAB’s seven exhibition halls, Sentiments and Emotions showcases the evolution of Cuen’s work from the early years of his career to the present day.
Photographs shown in the exhibit were selected from a variety of Cuen’s past projects, including “Carnales bajo el Puente”, “Acompañante”, “Migrando en el Espejo”, “Elise the last dance”, “La otra historia”, and “Nadie es de aquí”. Featuring photographs taken during his time living in New York City, travelling in India, and in his home base of Oaxaca, this selection of photographs shows an artist constantly in search of new circumstances and subjects with which to document and engage.
Image courtesy of Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo
Cuen was a student of the renowned portrait photographer Mary Ellen Mark, and regularly participated in the workshops she taught in Oaxaca up until her death in 2015. The impact of her mentorship was profound and Mark’s distinctive style of documentary photography is clearly present in Cuen’s work. Mark was well known for photographing those on the margins of society and in this exhibition we see how Cuen followed in her footsteps while simultaneously finding his own path. Ranging from black and whites to color portraits of society's often overlooked members, Cuen’s commitment to his brand of documentary photography and the lasting influence of his past mentor are both clearly on display.
In early photographs originating from the project “La otra historia”, such as the black and white portraits of children on the streets and subways of New York City, Cuen’s ability to capture the complex emotions of his subjects is as remarkable as his determination to take on the documentary style of his mentor and make it his own. These images challenge the traditional hallmarks of documentary photography, eschewing focus and clarity for the emotional impact of a child overwhelmed by the turbulence of a busy subway station or a chaotic city street. It’s hard not to immediately understand the sentiments of these moments; everyone was once a child and has at one point felt small, overlooked, and overwhelmed by the size and speed of the world unfolding before us.
La otra historia © Rame Cuen
Cuen’s distinct ability to capture the complexity of these moments has only sharpened over the years and what makes this exhibit special is not just the glimpse we have into his past projects, but rather the ongoing dialogue between his documentary roots and his relentless pursuit of emotional expression. In images from “Acompañante” and “Migrando en el Espejo”, which represent Cuen’s travels in North India and his work photographing immigrant Families in Spanish Harlem, he continues to explore his own emotional reaction to the world and his subjects while also taking on new methods of visual exploration. Cuen is a chameleon with an ability to effortlessly adapt to his circumstances and a recognition of what makes his vastly different subjects and settings unique.
His bright and colorful photographs from” Acompañante” are particularly stunning. Images such as the portrait of a young man in a moment of self-embrace and a destitute holy man offering his blessing radiate with compassion and document the vibrance of a community founded on spiritual reverence. In “Migrando en el Espejo”, his portraits of immigrants living in Spanish Harlem document not just their challenging circumstances but also the love of family and community so vital to their story. For Cuen, it seems, photography is more than just a method for documentation and he uses it as an effective tool to empathize and articulate the emotions of his subjects.
Acompañante © Rame Cuen
In “Sentiments & Emotions”, Cuen and Biondi are showcasing more than just the artistic progression of an insightful documentary photographer, they are showing the effective potential of the medium. A dictionary will tell you that the purpose of documenting is “to construct an authentic, tangible proof of a person, place, or event”. Rame Cuen will tell you that definition is incomplete without emotion. Cuen takes the task of documenting the world around him to heart with his photography and his emotions guide his camera to great success.
