Nature and culture: continuities and differences

April 28 / 12:30 p.m.

Activity in Rooms
Free admission upon collection of invitation, until full capacity is reached.

Álvaro Laiz comes from the world of journalism and photojournalism. His photographs have a distinctly documentary feel, but, as he himself says, he feels closely connected to anthropology and ethnography through his work as a photographer. In this sense, much of his work has focused on the relationship between nature and culture, which has led him to becomea National Geographic fellow this year.

This anthropological and ethnographic character can be seen in his interest in visiting the most remote communities: Uganda (Future Plans 2009-2010). the Mongolian periphery (Transmongolian 2010-2012), the Venezuelan jungle (Wonderland 2012-2014), eastern Russia (The Hunter 2014-2017) and the Bering Strait (The Edge, 2017) in order to delve into their ancestral cultures.

The time he devotes to each project is a good example of the rigor of his research on these communities, their history, their people, their work, their beliefs, and their rituals.

His images invite us to reflect on what nature and culture are. Hunters, indigenous peoples, miners, and barnacle gatherers struggle to survive against nature, but also against a culture increasingly mediated by technology that threatens to wipe them out.

In this way, Laiz has a deeper intention: to raise awareness about the different situations he depicts, whether they be exclusion, migration, poverty, or violence.

As he himself states, he wants his photographs to shake our brains for at least a second. In this way, his works look back at us and make us question ourselves, our personal and social identity.

Participating in this edition of Confluences:

Antonio Moreno

Professor of Economic History at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Navarra. He has worked on topics related to Historical Demography and Family History. He is currently working on a project about the historical origins of the kinship system in the West.

Alejandro Martinez

Adjunct professor. Teaches Anthropology in various degree programs and Critical Thinking in the Philosophy, Politics, and Economics degree program in the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters.

Ana Villarroya

Professor in the Department of Environmental Biology at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Navarra. She is part of BiBos 6.0 (www.bienestarybosques.com), a project sponsored by Obra Social la Caixa and Fundación Caja Navarra.