Erik Simons defines himself as a dreamer. At 20 years old , he likes to “think that everything can be achieved”. He maintains his mind and eyes open, since he has taken up photography as a friend and his digital camera is his inseparable companion. Erik is Panamanian, Finnish and American. He studies his second year of Industrial Design in the European ‘di Design’ Institute in Barcelona, Spain. A self-taught photographer, He has read every book or magazine on photography that fell into his hands, which has made him, along with practicing, to perfect himself in this discipline. At 17, he traveled to Venice along with by his Canon EOS digital Rebel, his first semiprofessional camera, which still accompanies him.
The objective of this trip was to learn and to perfect himself as a photographer. He has been 5 years in the realm of photography. Erik admires Sebastiao Salgado, an acclaimed Brazilian photographer. Doctor in Economic Statistics the first photographer to obtain the Prince of Asturias in the Arts prize in 1998. He also admires the American Steve Mc Curry, considered one of the best photographers in the world. He is collaborating habitually with National Geographic and other recognized publications. He is the author of that outstanding photo of the face of an Afghan girl in the refugee camp of Nasir Bagh in Peshawar, Pakistan. The eyes of the young woman went around the world and that cover became the most renowned of National Geographic. Erik has displayed his work in collective exhibitions as IB Art Show and Red Eye Art in La Casona (San Felipe) in Panamá and Peace, Friendship and Goodwill through sport and Recreation”, (Goodwill Games) in New York, United States.
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Exposing a dream |
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After all of this work, trial and error periods, investigating, learning and evolving, a new opportunity to make a photographic journey emerges. In this occasion, one is Benín in West Africa. This country borders to the west with Togo and Burkina Faso, to the east with Nigeria and to the north with Niger. Motivated by the social work of the La pequeña familia mission, which has a location in the city of Colón in Panamá, equipped with 2 camera bodies, 3 lenses; the desire to help and two anxious eyes to experiment, he took off to this new adventure.
As fruit result of this trip he brought back a great amount of photographic material and he selected 32 images that are on exhibit at the Arlene Lachman gallery, located on calle Primera in El Carmen. In Benín: Life, Celebration and Death, Erik shows the waama people. Their emotions and their daily life tasks. In addition to a unique burial ritual, that approaches the death theme and the cult of these people which is a product of the fusion of traditions and religious beliefs. Complemented with the environment, landscape scenes and nature of Benín, which is a corner of Africa that occupies a special place in the heart of the artist ever since his visit.
Of the 32 photos, 20 are in black and white, 12 of them are of the ritual of the waama burial, and the remaining 12 are in color. The amplifications were made in different sizes to emphasize certain characteristics or to force the observer to approach the image. Erik yearns to continue growing in the subject of photography. “I don’t plan to make a living of it, but I want to be able to do it every day, if possible”, he affirms.
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How do you define photography? |
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Photography is for me, a moment to be with myself and simultaneously to be able to interact with people through a camera, because I like to photograph people and to reflect their faces and their reactions.
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How was your romance with photography born? |
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When I was little, I spent long periods of time being sick in my house and my mother gave me paint, brushes and colored pencils to keep me entertained. She amused me with this. As I grew and turned 12, I was given a camera with Kodak Advantix film, it was very simple. Playing with it my interest grew to take photographs and to see the results. It became something important for me and I let my mother know, who gave me a 35 mm Mamiya camera. She used it when she studied at the university. I began to work with it, but it became too complicated because the developing process was expensive and I had to look for places where they did it well, reason why I decided on digital photography. With it the result has been fabulous, because besides seeing the result immediately, I can take many shots in a sequence. Although it does not have the magical touch of perfect photography of which the professional photographers speak of (he laughs). It is a fabulous tool to me.
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For you, is this a pastime or a profession? |
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Until now, it has been a pastime. However, I try to take my photography to a professional level and (with it) to help someone. This activity not only helps to generate benefits as a photographer, but it allows me to help others.
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What motivates you to take a photo? |
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I always look for the spontaneity of the moment. I like people to be unaware of what I’m doing. I look for natural images. When I begin to take photos, I like to enter a state in which I leave the world that surrounds me and (I become) a simple spectator through lens.
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How was your experience in Benín? |
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I was there 2 months and I was with the Panamanian sisters of the only mission of this nationality in Africa. They carry out a wonderful work. They’re 4 sisters of La Pequeña Familia of María. They help elderly with AIDS and orphaned children. They have another house in Benín, Africa.
I was interested in doing some work in Africa and one of the sisters told me what they do there, so I made the contact and I left. In the beginning, I went for the safari type photographic experience, although there were no animals and was also going to support the social work of the organization. It’s a small hospital that is in an expansion process; where births and patients of yellow fever and malaria are taken care of.
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What are your future plans? |
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I am looking to develop projects in Panamá, but every time that I have the opportunity to travel I take my camera to experiment.
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Ingrid Vásquez / The Panama Post
ingrid.vasquez@rimolamedios.com |
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