Interview • 075 PH

Andrés Vargas

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Please introduce yourself: What is your name, where are you from, what do you do?

My name is Andrés Vargas, I'm a photographer based in Guatemala City.

What is your relationship with photography and how did you get into it?

I got into photography when I started documenting punk shows in Guatemala. Later I took a couple of darkroom courses and got instantly hooked!

What do you think triggers you to photograph in a certain moment? Is it planned or solely driven by intuition?

I'd say I'm 95% driven by intuition. Planned projects and commisions are an important part of my work but I think the best work I've made is a result of an organic process and chance.

Which city would you like to visit the most, and why?

Probably Mexico City. It's like Guatemala but in a much larger scale. Super hectic and unpredictable. I always enjoy making work over there.

What is your personal relationship to cities and how do you perceive them as places in general?

Cities carry the weight of history and are shaped by it. They play a crucial role in my work, which is ofthen driven by their social dynamics and the impact of globalization (especially in Latin America).

What is the driving force behind creation?

It's an uncontrollable urge. I feel it's almost a responsability with the time and place I'm living in.

Which project did you never finish?

A project about the Belice-Guatemalan border. I plan to finish it next year.

What is that «one thing» you have never managed to photograph and is now gone for good?

Probably my neighborhood the way it was ten years ago. It's so changed now.

If you could travel back/forth in time, what advice would you give your younger/older self?

I would tell to my younger self to quit school sooner and assist more.

What do you prefer saying: «to take a photograph» or to «make a photograph», and why?

Take a photograph. I've never made a photograph. ☻︎

What is the most interesting experience you have had while photographing?

One time a military officer destroyed all of my film in front of me while I was making a personal project in a neighborhood called El Gallito in Guatemala City. I almost cried.

If it wasn’t for photography, what would you be interested in doing instead?

Probably trying to become a chef or a professional soccer player.

How would you describe one of your pictures to a blind person?

Like George Michael's Careless Whisper

What are you currently working on, and—if there is—what is your next project or journey?

I'm currently working a series of portraits and still lives in my studio which I intend to publish as a book in the near future.

Thank you, Andrés!

Editorial Notes:

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Photography: Andrés Vargas (2020)
Location: Guatemala City, Guatemala

Links: Website, Instagram

Interview • 075 PH

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