Weekend Portfolio: Francisco Úbeda Llorente | YOUR CHILDREN ARE NOT SPECIAL
Writing and Photography by Francisco Úbeda Llorente
Photo Editing by Haley Winchell
About the artist: Francisco Úbeda Llorente, and he was born in Almería (Andalusia, Spain) in 1981. After graduating from high school in 2000, he entered a public art school to study photography. After finishing his studies, he enrolled in the Escénica theater school to study theater lighting. During that year, he won the prestigious First Prize for Young Photographers of Andalusia. During the next few years, he worked sporadically as a photographer at various music festivals, taking photos of music bands, illustrating books, and doing whatever he could with his camera. This led him to Estonia, where he ended up giving some introductory courses on photography and exhibiting his work.
As if he were copying himself, he saw all his photographs the same way. He felt trapped in photography, so he decided to stop in 2007.
In the words of the writer Juan Goytisolo, “you don't have to live from writing, you just have to find a job and write. So I did.”
He has been combining the boring working life with projects and commissions ever since. The purpose of photography has never been to earn a living, but rather to give life meaning. The pressure of creating for a living is too much for him.
It is in his nature to be eclectic in every aspect of his life, whether it's Bach or techno music, he can jump from one to the other.
With photographic projects, he often experiences the same thing. His first thought when coming up with an idea is which language suits his story best. It can be black and white, color, or closer to a fashion or documentary style. His own style isn't important to him since he has already gone through that and made him move away from photography.
About the project: Your Children Are Not Special
The statement that the children of most people are not special is not a criticism or a value judgment on the individual worth of each child or young person. Rather, it is an observation based on statistics and social reality.
It is true that each person is unique and special in their own way, with unique abilities, talents, and personality traits. However, in terms of the population at large, most people do not stand out above average in terms of intelligence, social skills, or outstanding talents.
“Your children are not special” emerged from a baby boom around me. There was a moment when friends and coworkers only talked about the wonderful things their children were doing. I perfectly understand the unconditional love that one can have for their offspring. But narrating as heroic feats walking or eating without help is absurd. Because of that we grow up with the conviction that we will achieve whatever we set our minds to. Since childhood, we hear our parents encouraging and praising even our slightest movements.
I decided to take three men and three women for this project. To show that we are all anonymous in this society, some photographers, actresses, graphic designers, even an Olympic gymnast, covered their faces with masks. No matter what we do, we can be anything we want to be. It's not about who you are, where you go or what you get that matters. The most important thing is to enjoy what you do.
We are invited to reflect on the importance of personal identity and the culture of constant exposure through the photography project on anonymity. It shows us the power and beauty of anonymity through images, and invites us to see life from a different perspective without judgement or prejudice, simply letting the moment carry us away.
Maybe anonymity has become a form of rebellion against a culture that is increasingly obsessed with image and identity.
You can view more of Francisco’s work on his website.
