Daniel Mebarek

La Lucha Continua (The Struggle Continues, 2020-) pays tribute to my Bolivian family’s history, in particular to the political struggles of my grandfather and my uncle. My grandfather, Carlos Daza Lavadenz, was a member of the Revolutionary Party of the Nationalist Left (PRIN) and was imprisoned and killed during the military dictatorship of Hugo Banzer Súarez in 1974. My uncle Rodrigo Daza, son of Carlos Daza Lavadenz, was a member of the Workers’ Socialist Party (PST) and trade union leader in the 1980s.

Using the photographic process of the cyanotype, which is carried out by exposure to ultraviolet light, I decided to reinterpret the documents (pamphlets, identity photos, family photos) that they left behind. The sunlight acts in this context as a metaphor that sheds light upon the history of my family while also underlining the intimate and material bond of these documents with the past.

Daniel Mebarek (b. 1993) is a Bolivian artist based in Paris, France. He holds an MA in Photography from the Université de Paris 8 Vincennes–Saint-Denis (FRA), an MSc. in Media Studies from the London School of Economics (UK) and a BA. in Political Science from Sciences Po Paris (FRA).

His work is rooted in a lyrical documentary tradition while also engaging with the charged history of the photographic medium. He has been recognized with prizes, grants, and residencies from organizations such as Magnum Photos, PHmuseum, Photolucida, the Cité international des arts and the Centre national des arts plastiques. His work has also been exhibited in the United States, France and the United Kingdom.