WHO?
My name is Alicia Haber, I was born and live in Montevideo, Uruguay. As a Contemporary Art Historian and Curator of Contemporary Art (not photography), I have traveled, studied, taught, presented papers and given conferences in Uruguay and abroad, mainly in Western Europe and the United States. I lived abroad while studying sponsored by international research grants. I see myself as very cosmopolitan, and since childhood, I have been interested in different cultures and languages.
WHAT?
Photography has become a passion for the last three years, and currently, it is my main activity.
I took private photography and Photoshop classes in Montevideo. The photography classes, where I learned how to use the camera properly and the basics of photography, were intense and lasted a year. At first, I shot with an old Lumix, and now I am using a Sony Alpha mirrorless 6300.
I am participating in many Instagram hubs. Through the best photographers, IG has become also a learning tool. I dialogue with some international photographers and have taken some sporadic classes.
My gaze is enriched by previous experiences, not only in photography and exhibitions I have seen in my trips and visits to museums in the United States and Europe, but also by cinema and visual arts.
Cinema d’auteur is very important in my life. I consider myself a cinephile. I started going to the famous Montevidean cine clubs when I was 12, and later became a member of Cinemateca Uruguaya, where I attended the best movie sessions.
My experience in the world of Contemporary Art since my youth as a student and then as a teacher, professor, art critic and curator enriched my visual capital.
Regarding my photography, I intend, most of the time, to question the concepts of “realism” and “truth” of photography. I often try to create photos that would stimulate the viewer to look more than once. My goal is to problematise the viewers’ gaze. I would like them to stop in front of the image and reflect on what they are looking.
Visual ambiguities are very appealing to me. My photos, in general, concentrate on reflections, blurs produced by camera movement or slow speed and movement of the subject, silhouettes and shadows. I do not want total abstraction, though, I let the image or images to be seen, to stay in the picture, even if they are blurred or duplicated. I am not searching for a realistic depiction of the world.
I prefer colour, but I also work in black in white sometimes.
WHEN?
Almost every day. I take my camera everywhere I go.
WHERE?
I find inspiration in the city, basically in Montevideo, and in Brazilian cities, to where I travel quite often. I feel I am a very urban person, I do not feel attracted to landscapes, flowers, and nature in general. I am much more interested in people in their daily lives. During this lockdown and quarantine times we are undergoing, I keep photographing. It is a new challenge. I have to find other subject matters. One is intimate daily life, the suffering of quarantine and the other views out of my window.
WHY?
I have found an exciting and deep experience in photography after almost a lifetime working with verbal and written expression. It allows me to express myself visually. Many non-conscious and accidental things happen when I work with lights, people, the camera, the lens. Photography stimulates my imagination and creativity. It makes me look for aspects of life around me that I was not aware of. My mind keeps thinking about new ways to create.
