EPHEMERAL CONSTELLATIONS

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At first glance, it appears to be an ordinary plant, without any particular charm. Its long, succulent leaves grow and stretch in every direction with a certain nonchalance. Yet on some nights, between spring and summer, magic takes hold of them and their flowers dazzle—by their shape and by the intense fragrance they release. In the days before blooming, their elongated buds swell, and finally, at nightfall, they open, summoned by the darkness. Sometimes, with luck, numerous buds bloom at once. However, the spectacle is as beautiful as it is fleeting: as dawn approaches, the flowers close and collapse, hanging from a limp stem.

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This is the powerful spectacle that Guillermo Gutiérrez’s expert lens seeks to capture in black and white—recording, beyond color, the drama of forms revealed through greys and through the versatile shifts of chiaroscuro. The compositions reinforce their premise through repetition and enter into dialogue with one another, enriching their reading. If we pay attention to the way they are grouped, they resemble constellations open to personal reinterpretation.

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Lucrecia Cofiño