Seba Kurtis: Four Nights and A Thousand Lives

Seba Kurtis was born in Argentina in 1974. He studied journalism in Buenos Aires before leaving the country for Europe in the wake of the political and economic crisis of 2001. Several years spent as an illegal immigrant have informed much of his work, which explores the personal, social and cultural impact of irregular migration. Kurtis' work has been exhibited internationally, with solo shows in Europe and the USA, and his first book, Drowned (Here Press, 2011), was selected for the International Photobook Award at the International Photobook Festival, Le Bal, Paris, 2012.

United Kingdom –

British photographer Seba Kurtis shows his most recent project at the Galleria di Corso Vendemini at the 23rd edition of the SiFest (Savignano sul Rubicone).

The ancient towns of Cesena and Rimini in Italy provide the setting for Kurtis’ latest commission Four Nights and a Thousand Lives. The photographs in this series have a directness and beauty to them, and together bring a desire to understand the life of the migrant worker, to investigate whether it is one of tragedy, heroism, fantasy or fated. The translucent colours that wash over the large format portraits like a spectre are the result of what Kurtis refers to as “interventions”. These interventions result in surreal imagery created by superimposing plastic shopping bags used by illegal immigrants to disguise their breath, avoiding detection by screening at customs control.

The exhibit opens on Friday 3rd October, 2014 and will go on until 24th October 2014.