PARADOS EN EL MUNDO
2012. HD-VideoBerlin (Germany) / Prague (Czech Republic) / Oslo (Norway) / Warsaw (Poland) and Copenhagen (Denmark)
In Spanish public television there is a very successful program called "Spaniards in the world". It portrays the lives of spaniards who decided to search a new life outside of Spain. The program gives an overly optimistic image of life outside of Spain, portraying almost exclusively spaniards who are living a very comfortable and successful life.
This show, although seemingly irrelevant, affects the new Spanish immigrants who, with an unemployment rate of 27% in Spain, decide to seek a new life motivated by the apparent opportunities sold on television.
When these "new" Spanish immigrants arrive at their destination, usually in cities in northern Europe, without knowing the language or even basic English, most of them realize that "El Dorado" does not exist and Norway is not the panacea.
This show, although seemingly irrelevant, affects the new Spanish immigrants who, with an unemployment rate of 27% in Spain, decide to seek a new life motivated by the apparent opportunities sold on television.
When these "new" Spanish immigrants arrive at their destination, usually in cities in northern Europe, without knowing the language or even basic English, most of them realize that "El Dorado" does not exist and Norway is not the panacea.
Many spaniards return to Spain, others live in shelters or on the street. Some of them find work.
In Spanish the word "parados“ means both "stopped" and "unemployed". Parados en el Mundo is a collection of 10 videos, each 1 minute long, portraying 10 Spanish people looking for new job opportunities in central and northern Europe. Each of them, at the time of the portrait, was unemployed, was "stopped".
The portrayed, the "new“ Spanish immigrants, are real people with a comprehensive training, engineers, architects, teachers, doctors, social workers or computer scientists, among others.
In Spanish the word "parados“ means both "stopped" and "unemployed". Parados en el Mundo is a collection of 10 videos, each 1 minute long, portraying 10 Spanish people looking for new job opportunities in central and northern Europe. Each of them, at the time of the portrait, was unemployed, was "stopped".
The portrayed, the "new“ Spanish immigrants, are real people with a comprehensive training, engineers, architects, teachers, doctors, social workers or computer scientists, among others.
This project was first exhibited at the Domus Artium (DA2) Museum of Salamanca in 2012, in the solo exhibition of Álvaro Martínez "Un País Suspendido".
María. Berlin
María. Berlin
Eduardo. Praha
Enrique. Berlin
Mario. Praha
Carlos. Warsaw
Ana. København