Helena

Pargman

HELENA PARGMAN

11-06-2005 – 09-07-2005

H29 is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of the young Swedish-Argentinean photographer Helena Pargman (*1979), who will present a selection of her ’Volquetes’ project for the first time in Belgium.

The ‘Volquetes’ series consists of over 200 photographs, most of which were taken in Buenos Aires between 1998 and 1999 and during her travels in Sweden, Portugal and Israel as well as contributions from friends and acquaintances worldwide. Recording these garbage containers continuously and systematically throughout the years, carrying their images around with her, showing them to people and listening to their reactions have all been integral part of the ‘Volquetes’ project.

Despite their omni-presence from the Swiss Alps to the streets of Buenos Aires, their vital importance in our day-to-day lives, and their often-surprising aesthetic qualities, garbage containers or dumpsters most likely head the ‘Who is Who’s of least popular features of our (urban) environment. In her photos, however, Ms Pargman takes them out of their shadow-existence and places them center stage. No frills, no deceit; no sentimentality; just the plain stuff in all its diversity, richness, beauty, and sadness. These are eloquent, touching and often even humorous portraits of our throwaway society. Not only do they open our eyes to the over-looked, the passed-by, the taken-for-granted and draw our attention to what we discard on a daily basis, more importantly they point head-on to how we deal with what once used to matter so much to us … (Petra Bungert, Brussels 2005)