Flor Garduño (Mexico, 1957)
She studied Visual Arts at the Old Academy of San Carlos (UNAM). She was especially interested in her teacher Kati Horna’s work throughout her course; Horna's personality, together with the magical and expressive dimension of her photography, had a strong impact on the development of Flor's work. She perfected her photographic skills through a couple of different focuses: by delving into printing processes like palladium platinum and by printing her photographic portfolios in silver on gelatin, and by working as an assistant in Manuel Álvarez Bravo's camera obscura. Flor Garduño is an outstanding representative of the richness and diversity of Mexican photography. She worked for the Secretary of Public Education under the direction of Mariana Yampolsky; thus, she visited the most remote rural areas of Mexico to find appropriate topics for bilingual literacy books. This experience gave Flor the opportunity to get to know her country and the life of her indigenous peoples while simultaneously helping her develop her own style. Since her youth, she has developed her own style and sought the profound truth of the Mexican countryside, venturing into still life, the female nude, portraiture, and architecture, always in a perpetual search for the subtle boundaries of the imaginary; a portrait of the roots of magical cultures. The bridge between the present moment and the centuries that have passed lies in the eyes of those that have witnessed them--the water, trees, earth, and air. By incorporating these powerful natural elements in her photography, Flor evokes the presence of indigenous America’s horizons and suns. Flor makes her own rules, continually aiming to elicit some deep emotion. With the framework of her photography built, Flor perseveres in the task of taking photos that not only reveal but rather capture a place of revelation.
