eL CALOR DE OTROS SOLES

There are departures that are not born from the desire to leave, but from the necessity of imagining a future under another light. For many Latin Americans, moving abroad means learning how to exist between distances: between the memory of a place and the uncertainty of another, between what has been left behind and what remains alive. El calor de otros soles (The Warmth of Other Suns) brings together the works by four young Latin American photographers based in Europe: Fabiola Ferrero, Marisol Mendez, Silvana Trevale and Daniel Santolo Franco. 

The exhibition takes its title from the line of thought developed in Isabel Wilkerson’s seminal book The Warmth of Other Suns, which chronicles the journeys of African American communities from the Southern United States to the North. Through a compilation of individual stories, Wilkerson constructs a broader understanding of migration as a deeply complex human experience shaped by the search for opportunity, dignity, and a better future.

Although Wilkerson's book is based on historical analysis and first-hand recollections of the Great Migration, this exhibition comprises four artists who consider emigration from the perspective of their communities and personal experiences. These four photographers speak from lived experience rather than replicating simplistic portrayals of Latin America shaped by perceptions of otherness. They reveal intensely personal and nuanced narratives of displacement, belonging, and transformation that highlight the complexities, contradictions, and opportunities inherent in the immigrant journey.

Fabiola Ferrero (Caracas, 1991; based in Paris) is a documentary photographer whose work examines the cultural legacies of Venezuela’s twentieth-century oil-fueled modernization. Drawing on a background in writing and investigative journalism, her practice explores the intersections of politics, history, and collective memory. Through her images, Ferrero reveals the contradictions that shape contemporary Venezuela, juxtaposing the glamour and aspirations associated with a once-prosperous nation against the realities of displacement, precarity, and survival brought about by the country’s ongoing socio-political crisis. Rather than presenting a singular narrative, her work highlights the complexity of Venezuelan experience, foregrounding both the resilience and vulnerability of those navigating profound social change. With a sensitive and observational approach, Ferrero captures moments with honesty and immediacy, inviting viewers to confront the tensions between memory and loss, privilege and hardship, aspiration and survival.

Marisol Mendez (Cochabamba, 1991, based in Paris) is a visual artist whose practice blurs the boundaries between truth and fiction, inviting viewers to question the narratives constructed through photography. Deeply rooted in the landscapes, folklore, and social histories of Bolivia, her work seeks to forge genuine connections with her subjects while weaving together layers of meaning that resonate with collective memory and imagination. Working across staged and documentary approaches, Mendez explores how images shape our understanding of identity, gender, and belonging. The series MADRE and PADRE examine the cultural constructions of femininity and masculinity in contemporary Bolivia through the lens of family history, religion, and inherited social norms. In MADRE, Mendez combines Andean folklore, Catholic iconography, and interventions in her family archive to challenge reductive representations of women and reconnect with her matrilineal heritage. In PADRE, she turns her attention to masculinity, tracing the emotional legacies of machismo through staged portraits, archival materials, and intimate family narratives. Together, these bodies of work reveal the complexities and contradictions embedded within collective identity, questioning the stories images preserve and the systems of belief they sustain.

Silvana Trevale's (Caracas, 1993, based between Barcelona and New York) compelling portraits highlight the resilience of Venezuelans amidst the turmoil of their homeland. Her series, "Venezuelan Youth," captures the beauty and strength of a generation striving to create a future despite overwhelming challenges. Silvana's work is a tribute to her roots, showcasing the lived realities of individuals who remain in Venezuela, determined to reshape their homeland. Each photograph reflects a blend of documentary and symbolism, celebrating the natural beauty of her subjects while also addressing the social and political crises they face. Silvana's commitment to Venezuela’s youth and culture is shown through her work and actions, as she donates a portion of her work's sales to organizations supporting youth in her homeland, ensuring that their stories are not just seen but also acted upon.

Daniel Santolo’s (Caracas, 1993, based in Barcelona) work invites viewers to consider the migrant body as a living map, a territory continually reshaped by memories and experiences. His project, "Cartography in Transit," reflects on how identity evolves through migration. Daniel poignantly illustrates that the body carries the imprints of its journey, showing a personal mapping of lived experiences. His exploration reveals the in-between spaces that migrants inhabit, between what is left behind and what is embraced, between origins and destinations. Through his lens, each individual emerges not just as an island of solitude but as part of a broader community that fosters belonging, reminding us that home is where we come from, but also where we choose to grow our roots, build and nurture connections.

The works by the photographers on the show do not seek to explain their communities through fixed narratives or inherited labels. Instead, each image insists on the right to complexity and flexibility. What appears in these photographs is not nostalgia, but continuity: the persistence of gestures, affections, values, and ways of being together that refuse disappearance. Even at a distance, these four photographers continue to pay homage to the people and places that formed them, not by idealizing them, but by allowing their existence to live on.

This show celebrates the often underlooked Latin American diversity rather than the melancholy as a means of belonging. A celebration of communities that continue to bloom under another sun, carrying with them the knowledge that there is space for everyone, and that sharing where we come from is perhaps one of the most generous ways of imagining a future together. El calor de otros soes invites audiences to reflect on their own connections to identity and community, ultimately celebrating the resilience found in the journeys of those who seek to redefine their roots, all while carrying parts of their home with them on their immigrant journey.