Silvana Trevale

In spite of the fact that Venezuela has greater oil reserves than Saudi Arabia, my country has one of the fastest shrinking economies in the world. Food and medicines are in desperately short supply while the murder rate soars and the national currency is worth less than the paper it is printed on. One of the consequences of this crisis is the increasing numbers of Venezuelans who have or are hoping to emigrate, of which I am one, having left my home to study in North America at the age of 17.
We Venezuelans widely regard Venezuela as feminine, as a woman. When I return however I am always struck by the vital, yet unrecognized role women play in Venezuelan society. As a response, this series of portraits then looks towards the women of Venezuela, celebrating the collective, modest but real-life heroes of my homeland.

Silvana was born and raised in Venezuela, at the age of seventeen she decided to leave her home country for better opportunities. This year she has graduated from the University of Huddersfield with a first class degree in Photography BA Hons. The escalating crisis in Venezuela has motivated her to produce her latest body of work. With photography she has found an outlet to empower her people as they face one of the most difficult political crisis is in the world today. When photographing the subjects she tries to work closely with them allowing an uniqueness to be portrayed. Furthermore, trying to preserve an integrity in her work. Silvana has won the APHE Bursary Award 2017, additionally her work has been exhibited as part of the Fresh Aire in Village Bookstore (Leeds) and also at the Pingyao International Photography Festival (China) . Upcoming in 2017, Silvana will be part of the RPS IPE 160 exhibition that will travel around the UK, additionally she has her biggest exhibition at ThePrintSpace (London) as part of her prize for winning the bronze medal for the Best Portfolio Award at the OffSpring Photomeet 2017 (London). Silvana is currently based in the UK.