Javier Arcenillas

About this book

The main characters in his photographs are the weak, the disowned and all of those who struggle on a daily basis to survive. This book brings together images of workers breaking up boats, abandoned refugees, amateur boxers, garbage collectors in dumps and members of armed gangs among other subjects. Since 2006 Javier Arcenillas has been working on an essay about violence in Central America. His photographs document pain, desperation, impotence and fear. His first works to gain recognition were Sicarios ("Hitmen") and Nota roja ("Red note"), both installments of his trilogy about death in El Salvador, Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala, followed by Latidoame rica, its final part, the focus of which shifts to the tales of the victims of the indiscriminate violence prevalent in Honduran society. The group of photographs included in this book goes a long way to define Arcenillas's work: striking images with a precise narrative discourse stir powerful emotions in the viewer. Shooting in black and white, making use of the close-up to introduce his scenes and playing with only partially focused subjects he arrives at his individual and feisty vision.