Association The Self-Portrait Experience

Association

The Self-Portrait Experience A non-profit association based in Ticino, Switzerland, facilitating and dilvulging autobiographic art by people at risk of social exclusion, following the method The Self-Portrait ExperienceÂŽ, a tool for individual and social transformation.

The Association and its objectives

The Self-Portrait Experience is a non-profit association based in Ticino, Switzerland and created by professional artists Cristina Nu単ez and Roberto Mucchiut in March 2018, with the goal of facilitating and divulging autobiographical art, mainly by people at risk of social exclusion such as prisoners, mental health patients, people on recovery from drugs and alcohol, adolescents with special needs and the elderly. The method used is The Self-Portrait Experience, a tool for individual and social transformation, created in 2004 by Cristina Nu単ez, and tested since then by herself in over 400 workshops and in collaboration with universities around the globe.

Objectives: 1. Stimulate and promote the research, promotion and information about autobiographical art as a tool for individual and social transformation, through the method The Self-Portrait Experience速 2. Hold self-portrait and autobiographical art workshops through the method The Self-Portrait Experience速: - in correctional facilities and with probation services, for inmates and their families - for mental health patients and their families - in rehab centers for addicts and their families - in centers for youth and teenagers and their families - in day centers or nursing homes for the ageing and their families - in hospitals and centers for terminally ill and their families - in other social health institutions.

- in cultural facilities such as museums, galleries and art centers - in universities, accademies, public and private schools

- in psychotherapy and art-therapy schools - in other cultural and educational institutions.

- in companies, for leaders and staff - for the general public 3. Organize autobiographical exhibitions and participate in contemporary art exhibitions in Switzerland and internationally.

4. Organize - and participate in - events on autobiographical art as an instrument for individual and social transformation.

5. Organize - and participate in - research projects on autobiographical art as an instrument for individual and social transformation, in collaboration with universities around the globe.

6. Publish books, articles and brochures on paper and/or digital on autobiographical art as an instrument for individual and social transformation.

7. Cooperate with other associations, public and private institutions to stimulate and promote the research, the promotion and information about autobiographical art as a tool for individual and social transformation.

Statement

I started working on photo self-portraiture in 1988 to overcome personal problems and to unconsciously stimulate a powerful creative process which allowed me to become an artist in 1994. Self-taught, and intuitively pursuing heuristic research, my auto-ethnographic artistic practice and extensive experience facilitating people’s creative process since 2005 has led to The Self-Portrait Experience®, which I regularly teach in prisons, mental health centres, museums, galleries, universities, high schools and companies around the world. My method uses the power of ubiquitous digital photography in a completely different way, not ‘selfies’, that allows unconscious expression to honestly explore inner lives, especially our most difficult emotions, in order to gain new insight and stimulate the creative process as reflective.

Exploring and questioning my own practice with myself and others, moving between disciplines and artistic mediums -photography, video, performance, net art - I became a researcher of human inner life, studying the creative power of emotional pain, the genesis and dynamics of the subconscious creative process and the philosophical, psychological and sociological purpose and effects of my practice and methodology. The over 4000 collaborative self-portrait sessions I have held since 2008 have enabled me to provide revealing images which prove Aby Warburg’s (1822) theories on the emotion as a vehicle for cultural memory and reflect on Jung’s concept of the nature of dreams as expression of the collective unconscious.

The Self-Portrait Experience®, which applies both to my artistic practice and to the collaborative work with others, consists of three mains steps: taking of self-portraits, perceiving the images in-depth and publishing the images. The method itself is a journey through all aspects of our lives using photography (Nuñez, 2012).

In my workshops, I train people to use the method with their own cameras and thus perform an alchemic process by transforming their emotional pain into artworks – which function as alchemic agents of integration and individuation, as dreams do for Jung- and working on the in-depth and ever changing perception of the works using my articulate methodology of perception consisting in a series of criteria: multiplicity (exploring the many different – and often opposite - messages, expressions, emotions of the subject -using the neurological pathway of the emotional lateralization); temporality (reflecting on the transitory character of artworks); visual harmony (composition, colour, geometries, visual elements) and Higher Self (iconic/epic quality, archetypes, symbols, dreams and storytelling).

Living in Ticino, Switzerland since January 2018, I have started working with multimedia artist Robeto Mucchiut, who has extensively worked with people at risk of social exclusion. Our team can now provide impressive multimedia outputs which give a more valuable impact to participants’ autobiographical projects and create a powerful dialogue with the public.

Cristina Nuñez This statement includes the abstract of Nuñez’s PhD by publications thesis, on which she is currently working, at the College of Arts, University of Derby, UK, to be completed by 2020.

The Self-Portrait Experience®, the method

The Self-Portrait Experience® is a transformative art methodology created by Spanish artist Cristina Nuñez, on the basis of her 30-year experience with the photo and video self-portrait as a tool for artistic and heuristic research and individual and social transformation.

The method aligns itself with Tania Bruguera’s artistic current “Arte Útil”: contemporary art projects and methods which: 1) Propose new uses for art within society 2) Use artistic thinking to challenge the field within which it operates 3) Respond to current urgencies 4) Operate on a 1:1 scale 5) Replace authors with initiators and spectators with users 6) Have practical, beneficial outcomes for its users 7) Pursue sustainability 8) Re-establish aesthetics as a system of transformation The Self-Portrait Experience® consists in the production of self-portraits, portraits, landscapes and other images; the gathering of images from the family album, family documents, maps, videos, audios and objects; a methodology of perception and choice of the images and the dialogue between images, according to specific artistic criteria, and the construction of an autobiographical art project.

In the self-portrait as proposed in this method we are, at the same time, author, subject and spectator, and the powerful dynamics between the three roles stimulates the unconscious creative process and allows us to transform our emotions into artworks. Working on human inner life, the self-portrait project is a “mother project”, which can generate many other projects, even with other artistic disciplines.

The method is a journey through all aspects of our lives, in three parts, with several self-portrait exercises in each part: ME : individual self-portraits (emotions, body, characters, places, roots) ME AND THE OTHER : relationship self-portraits (family, love, friendship, unknown people, work, pets, etc) ME AND THE WORLD: your relationship with society (self-portraits in our groups and with the unknown communities) A self-portrait artwork, according to this method, is an image that contains multiple meanings, often contrasting: it deals intimately with the human condition, in contains a rich diversity of stimuli to thought and feeling, and it possesses a special relationship with time, all within a harmonious configuration of aesthetic and formal elements.

The methodology of perception and choice of the artworks consists in a series of artistic and humanistic criteria, which allow the viewer to establish an in-depth dialogue with the images, to discover that perception can be flexible and thus to change their perception of themselves, the others and the world: multiplicity (exploring the many different – and often opposite - messages, expressions, emotions of the subject -using the neurological pathway of the emotional lateralization); temporality (reflecting on the transitory character of artworks); visual harmony (composition, colour, geometries, visual elements); Higher Self (iconic/epic quality, archetypes, symbols, dreams and storytelling) and the dialogue between images, to stimulate further self-knowledge, and to create new personal statements and the sequences which will form the autobiographical project.

General objectives The method’s main objective is to involve participants in a spontaneous and unconscious creative process –to which every human being can access, no matter their age, culture level or social context-, so that they learn to transform their difficult emotions into photographic artworks, learning to perceive the images in-depth in order to improve their perception of themselves, the other and the world. It is a process of exploration of one’s own identity and a discovery of one’s strengths, for a better knowledge and improvement of self-image and selfesteem. Sharing the process with peers, the method allows improving public image and, consequently, interper-

sonal relationships and one’s perception of society and the world.

The trans-media publication of participants’ self-portraits and autobiographical projects –if and when the subjects involved agree- in different outputs (gallery, street and online exhibitions, website and blog, social media and the press) shall stimulate the public to deconstruct and dispel stigma surrounding the labels and stereotypes often associated with socially excluded collectives, and therefore to change their perception of the protagonists, thus improving social inclusion and interaction. The discovery of a new relationship with diversity can mirror back a mutual sense of humanity e.g. emotional pain, hopes, desires and dreams which support identification rather than dissociation and alienation.

When participants belonging to marginalized or unproductive collectives discover that intimate disclosure in form of their self-portraits and autobiographical projects can be useful within society, they immediately access a powerful process of resilience, which will give them the necessary strength to pursue their individual and social transformation.

Specific objectives are: 1. To stimulate the unconscious creative process, learning to: - trigger the creative process by expressing emotions - select the artworks and perceive them in-depth with specific artistic criteria.

- work on the dialogue between images, build sequences of images and the autobiographical project 2. To contribute to improve participants’ self-image, by: - allowing them to re-discover, by means of the inner process, their strengths and values.

- stimulating self-awareness.

- activating thought processes which are necessary for their evolution.

3. To contribute to improve participants’ public image, by: - sharing their inner processes, strengths and values with their peers and others.

- stimulating openness and trust in their relationships.

- activating collaboration between peers and with others.

Research Nuñez has participated to several research projects with Manchester Metropolitan University (see Wonderland and I Am projects below), the Catholic University in Milan (#Closetome project below), Stendhal University in Grenoble, Turku Academy of Arts and Deakin University in Melbourne (see projects below). Nuñez is currently pursuing a PhD by publications at the College of Art, University of Derby UK, on her practice and methodology, which she will complete in 2019.

In 2012 the Department of Clinical Psychology of the Catholic University in Milan produced a research project on Nuñez’s method, namely, a series of self-portrait workshops for teenagers, in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Milan. The most important outcome of this research was the fact that, of 39 adolescents, 38 asserted that the workshop had allowed them to change their perception of themselves. The research project took the form of a graduate thesis by Valentina Brivio (attached, in Italian).

Nuñez has been gathering participants’ feedback in questionnaires since 2008, which she is currently elaborating for her PhD. Some of this feedback has been published in different outputs: - “We Exist” an online exhibition about Nuñez’s self-portrait workshops in Norwegian prisons: https://weexistnorway.tumblr.com/tagged/Ullersmo+Prison (click on inmates feedback). The online exhibition is visible here: http://r9b0334408.racontr.com/ - https://vimeo.com/83164390 A video with interviews to workshop participants.

- https://vimeo.com/98324481 Backstage video of the project #Closetome, with 250 adolescents in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Cinisello, Milan.

Workshops in different contexts Cristina Nuñez has been holding workshops in the social field since 2008: - adolescents, in Italy (Museum of Contemporary Photography Milan for 250 teenagers), Spain (TNG Granollers, for teens at risk of social exclusion) and France (Impro Gentianes AFIPAEIM, Grenoble).

- mental health institutions in Spain (Day Hospital for psychiatric teenage patients), Finland (Tampere Uni-

versity Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry), Italy (ASL Lucca), France (Impro Gentianes AFIPAEIM, Grenoble), Canada (Passages, for women living in difficult circumstances).

- cancer patients, individually, with people from USA, Italy, Spain and France.

- AIDS patients, in Italy (San Camillo Community for people with terminal AIDS) and the USA (Women’s Health Center, Brooklyn, Housing Works).

- the elderly, individually, in Spain and Italy.

- addicts, in UK (Manchester Metropolitan University: Wonderland, 2016 and I Am, 2014), Italy (SERT public service Palermo, Bollate and San Vittore prisons) and Spain (all prisons).

- prisons, in Italy (San Vittore, Bollate), Spain (Brians 1, Wad Ras, Lledoners, Quatre Camins) and Norway (Bredtveit, Ila, Ullersmo) - professionals working with these collectives in France, Spain, Italy, Canada and USA. The Association in Switzerland: Since March 2018, Cristina Nuñez is collaborating with Parco delle Gole della Breggia (on a new educational project for schools for 2019), Istituto di Ricerche di Gruppo (as a teacher for art-therapy students), École des Sciences Criminelles in Lausanne (as a teacher of the Master in Criminology) and galleria Consarc (on workshops for the public).

The workshops In Nuñez’s self-portrait workshops participants start experiencing the individual self-portrait session with the artist on the expression of difficult emotions: alone in the professional photo studio built in-situ, each participant takes a series of images following –or not- the artist’s instructions. The exercise is always a success: an artwork is produced, no matter what the subject does. When finished, the artist accompanies the participant individually to the in-depth perception and choice of the images. People don’t recognize themselves in the most powerful artworks, but by working with the artist, they will improve their perception of themselves significantly.

While the individual sessions are going on, the others perform other activities (perception of other images learning the criteria, taking abstract images, finding images on the internet, etc).

The next day, participants will share their images with their peers, in order to work on the group perception of the works: their perception will continue to change.

Other similar modules (photo sessions and group sessions to work on the images) can be held for different exercises: Me and the Other (relationship self-portraits in pairs) and Me and the World (group self-portraits).

If possible, participants will be encouraged to take self-portraits with their cameras or phones on their own, so that they learn to use the method’s resources and tools.

Group workshops can be introductive (2-3 days), complete (3 weekends, one per month) or a week-intensive workshop. The complete workshop can also be done individually, and it can also consist of just an individual session on the expression of emotions. Those who have learned how to use the method on themselves can access the training for self-portrait facilitators, which is currently being held in Milan and Barcelona.

Example of a complete workshop for a group of 10-14 participants: - Me (two days: individual photo sessions and group work on perception) - 3-4 days in between, so that participants have time to do other exercises with their cameras - Me and the other (two days: photo sessions in pairs, and group session on perception) - 3-4 days in between, so that participants have time to do other exercises with their cameras - Me and the world (three days: group photo sessions, group work on perception and project build-up).

Part of the workshop can be pursued through an online platform, where participants can upload their images, see and comment on peers’ images, chat, participate to webinars, find resources, etc.

Space and equipment needs: Space: - one empty room for the studio with power sockets, where participants can be alone and unseen while taking pictures - one room with tables, chairs, 1 computer for every 3-4 people and a projector.

Equipment: - two studio flash lights with lightbox and umbrellas, stands and accessories.

- a structure to hang a fabric backdrop - one black fabric backdrop (this can also be carried from Europe by the artist) - small digital cameras for participants, if needed.

Projects in the social field

Adolescents and young people

“The self-portrait is mainly an affirmation of the self. Adolescence is the age in which the adult identity is formed. I can’t think of a better match. I love teenagers, probably because I still feel a teenager myself. Feeling insecure of who you are, feeling awkward, vulnerable and clumsy in life, and feeling often enraged against the system. Swiss artist Urs Luthi once said “insecurity keeps you young”, which gives sense to these unpleasant feelings. Insecurity is essential for the creative process, it means you are open for change, open to perceive things in depth –from the inner or outer world- and to transform your needs into works of art. Thus adolescence can be one of life’s most creative moments.”

Cristina Nuñez, 2017 Workshops for teenagers and young people: • • • • • • • •

Waldorf School, Milan, 2008 and 2009 Tampere University Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 2010 Day Hospital for teenage psychiatric patients, Nou Barris, Barcelona, 2012 Museum of Contemporary Photography Cinisello, Milan (two projects: Sono Io! 2011 and Close to Me 2013, for over 300 teenagers of Milan’s province) TNG Granollers, Roca Umbert Fàbrica de les Arts, Barcelona, 2015 Several institutes in Granollers, 2016 Impro Gentianes, AFIPAEIM, Grenoble, for teenagers with learning disabilities and the professionals who work with them. 2016-17 Maison de l’Image, Grenoble, 2015

• Deakin University in Melbourne - Youth Center Greater Dandenong, 2018

2008 and 2009, Waldorf School, Milan Two three-month workshops, one 3 hr session per week, in which participants produced self-portraits following the method’s exercises and built their autobiographical projects. Exhibition at Polifemo Gallery, Fabrica del Vapore, Milan. http://selfportrait-experience.com/2013102teenagers-self-portraits-introduction/

2011, Sono Io, a project with the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Milan, involving 70 teenagers of three high schools in Cinisello Balsamo, who produced emotional self-portraits both with the artist in the studio and with their own cameras. Ten day workshop over a period of three months. Exhibition/projection at the Museum. http://www.mufoco.org/en/io-sono/

2013-14, #Closetome, a project with the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Cinisello, Milan, involving 250 adolescents of Milan and province, who took emotional and relational self-portraits with their own cameras and smartphones, and some of them in collaboration with the artist. Fifteen day workshop over a period of five months. Exhibition at the Museum. http://www.mufoco.org/en/closetome-2/ https://vimeo.com/98324481 - https://vimeo.com/106221771

2015, TNG Granollers, Roca Umbert FĂ brica de les Arts: a project involving 60 teenagers at risk of social exclusion in Granollers during 6 months, in which participants photographed themselves, their relationships and their surroundings, and built a personal project. Exhibition at Zero Gallery, Roca Umbert FĂ brica de les Arts. http://rocaumbert.com/event/tng-teenegers-granollers/ https://vimeo.com/184129018

2015, Maison de l’Image, Grenoble, workshops with teenagers and other groups of socially excluded groups. Participants took emotional and relational self-portraits, both in the artist’s studio and with their own cameras or smartphones. Exhibition at the Ancien Musée de Peinture, Grenoble. WEBDOC: http://rcd4b21805.racontr.com/ - https://www.maison-image.fr/projets/webdocumentaire/ -

2016 - 2017, Impro Gentianes, AFIPAEIM, Grenoble, a three month workshop for teenagers with learning disabilities and the professionals who work with them. Participants produced self-portraits, portraits and other images in the studio and with their own cameras and phones, and built their autobiographical projects. Educators stated that the workshop had awakened participants desires and dreams. A complete report of this workshop is available upon request.

Mental and physical health As an artist interested in the human being and the most urgent human needs, I have a particular interest on people like I used to be, people who are living under difficult circumstances, who are labelled, marginalized by society because they are not productive, thus becoming a “problem”, not easy to deal with.

The research of beauty in adversity, as an expression of truth and humanity, the aesthetic power in the expression or narration of painful experiences and the construction of artworks which can be communicated and shared with the public is one of the main goals of my practice with myself and with others.

Workshops in mental health institutions: • Individual self-portrait coaching with cancer patients.

• Housing works, Women’s Health Center, Brooklyn for HIV+ women.

• Angelo Azzurro, a complete self-portrait workshop with a group of psychiatric patients, Rome. Exhibitions in Rome, Senigallia and Cisternino, Italy.

• Day Hospital for psychiatric teenage patients, Nou Barris, Barcelona (a three month workshop for a group of 8 teenage patients).

• Tampere University Hospital, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Finland (a workshop for psychiatrists in two parts and two individual sessions with kids).

• ASL Public Service, for mental health patients, Lucca, Italy (a group self-portrait workshop on the expression of emotions with a group of 10 patients) • Passages, for women living in difficult circumstances, Montreal, Canada (a self-portrait workshop for a group of 8 women and two professionals).

• San Camillo, for people with terminal AIDS, Concorezzo, Italy (a self-portrait workshop for a group of 15 patients and two professionals).

Most of the images produce in these institutions cannot be shown here.

2009 - ASL Lucca: two-day self-portrait workshop with a group of mental health patients, in collaboration with photo-therapist Carmine Parrella.

Participants took self-portraits, alone in the photo studio, following instructions on the expression of emotions, then viewed the images individually with Cristina and finally shared them with the group. It was particularly interesting how the two men above appeared upright and looking in the camera, because normally they would curl into themselves in introspection and would avoid looking at others.

2011, Passages, Montreal. During the Mois de la Photo in Montreal, while NuĂąez had her personal exhibition Someone to Love, she held a series of workshops, of which one, an introductory self-portrait workshop on the expression of difficult emotions, was for a group of women who had suffered from abuse. Two day workshop: individual sessions and group work on the perception of the images.

2009, ComunitĂ San Camillo, Concorezzo, Italy. An introductory selfportrait workshop for a group of 15 patients and two professionals, in three days:individual sessions and group work on the perception of the images. http://selfportrait-experience.com/2013101waiting-forcharon-self-portraits-in-a-community-for-people-with-aids/

2009 - Women’s Health Centre, Brooklyn - Housing Works. An introductory self-portrait workshop for HIV positive women, on the expression of emotions, 2 days. http://selfportrait-experience.com/2013102the-self-portrait-experience-with-hiv-positive-women/

Angelo Azzurro, association of psychiatric support, Rome. A complete self-portrait workshop, in collaboration with Italian artist Giovanni Calemma, for a group of 10 psychiatric patients, for 15 days. Exhibitions were held in Rome, Senigallia and Cisternino, Italy. With the support of Vodafone Foundation, Italy. http://www.fantomeditions.com/exhibition-uno-sguardo-nuovo/

Exerpt of an autobiographical project by Marilena, who suffers from cancer, multiple myelome. NuĂąez is currently following Marilena individually.

Marilena documents the whole process of her illness and her emotions all through the experience, by taking photographs and filming herself in a sort of video-journal.

She stated that this process is allowing her to take possession of her life and her experience, which has given her a great deal of creative energy, focusing on project-making, expressing her vision and emotions and making a sort of homage to herself while living this difficult situation.

Addiction recovery

“I have been an addict myself in my teens, a heroin addict and a prostitute, and now I am a resilient artist who uses and shares her past experience in her work.

Therefore working with addicts in recovery is a natural and essential part of my work. I can inspire them and offer them effective tools to empower themselves and work on their independence, not only from substance mis-use but also in relationships to others and to society at large. The self-portrait allows us to re-create a profound gaze on ourselves and to establish an ongoing inner dialogue which is essential in the process of recovery.”

Cristina Nuñez, 2017 Participants to the project “Wonderland, the art of becoming human” (next page) stated: “Feeling and seeing ourselves anew, acknowledging difficult emotions, learning how others see us, helped us feel braver, wiser and more connected. The project helped us to own our humanity, become more compassionate towards each other and ourselves, and feel less stigmatised by our mental health and substance use disorder issues and histories.”

2014, I AM, memoirs of addiction recovery. European Grundtvig project, led by Portraits of Recovery and the MMU. A self-portrait workshop on video at the Manchester Metropolitan University for a group of 15 people addicted to drugs or alcohol .

Exhibition at the MMU. See the video UNCOOL here: https://vimeo.com/104904928

2016, Wonderland, the art of becoming human. A project by professor Amanda Ravetz, Manchester Metropolitan University, in collaboration with Portraits of Recovery. A complete self-portrait workshop (7 days) at the Manchester Metropolitan University for a group of 10 people who had been addicted to drugs or alcohol. A film by Amanda Ravetz was projected at the Utopia Fair in Somerset House, London. The film got the Utopia award of the AHRC. https://wonderandrecovery.wordpress.com/about/

2012 -2013, SERT Palermo (National Service for Drug and Alcohol Addiction) One self-portrait introductory workshop for professionals in the drug service and one selfportrait introductory workshop for addicts, as part of a bigger project using photography as a tool for individual and social transformation. http://www.dipendenzepatologichepalermo.it/palermo-uno-sguardo-a-fuoco/

The elderly “I’ve always felt attracted to old people and I love to listen to their life experiences. During my first trip to Senegal I understood the importance of storytelling by the elderly, in a culture which has been transmitted orally from generation to generation. I saw my partner’s grandmother spend hours telling the family story to the enlarged family, all sitting on the floor in absolute silence and solemn attitude. They already knew the story but that narration was a profound transmission of roots which they knew they needed. In our Western civilization, old people have lost their role of storytellers, so we confine them in nursing homes and they feel unwanted, useless. No wonder Alzheimer and senile dementia have increased, I’d say.

Working with my mother, who suffered from senile dementia, I discovered that when she seemed to speak nonsense, she was in fact telling me words of wisdom, sometimes using symbols. She connected with feelings she hadn’t connected when she was lucid.

Listening to old people’s life stories, even if they are not my own family, I immediately feel nurtured and deeply rooted by the expression of humanity.”

Cristina Nuñez, 2017

Antonio Galindo Campos, 90 years old, Barcelona. Autobiographical storytelling on video, of a man who lived through the Spanish Civil War, World War II in France and who worked for over 40 years cleaning the engines of great merchant ships. Deserter, smuggler and today a tramp, with no family and no right for a pension. See the full interview here: https://vimeo.com/226565236 In the next double page, excerpt of Marisa Salmeron’s autobiographical project. The artist’s mother, who suffered of senile dementia (1929 - 2011)

Workshops in prison “People who have committed a crime and are paying for what they’ve done are touching rock bottom regarding their self-image and public image, and this offers them the possibility to open their minds and hearts, in order to search resources and inner strength to evolve and get out of that situation. To me, this can result in a sort of “state of grace” which often triggers a very powerful creative process.

When prisoners meet someone from outside who has lived similar life experiences and perceives them as equals, which doesn’t happen often in a prison, they are usually grateful and open up. Moreover, when this someone enters the prison with the certainty of intensely learning and growing as humans, when being in contact with them, there is the possibility of a very special and creative relationship. This is the main reason I love working in prisons.”

Cristina Nuñez, 2017 Video about the method in prisons: https://vimeo.com/155447936 Workshops in prison: - San Vittore, Milan - Bollate, Milan - Brians 1, Barcelona - Wad Ras, Barcelona - Lledoners, Barcelona - Quatre Camins, Barcelona - Bredtveit, Oslo - Ila, Oslo - Ullersmo, Oslo

Left and following pages: 2013, complete self-portrait workshop in Lledoners prison, Barcelona.

Fifty men participated, working on emotional and relational self-portraiture, family pictures, choice of landscape images from our archives or produced especially for them and building their self-portrait projects, both individually and sharing the process with peers. With the support of Obra Social La Caixa.

2011- Introductory self-portrait workshop on the expression of emotions in Brians 1 prison for 85 women. Participants did a self-portrait session with the artist, worked on the perception and choice of the works, both individually and in the group.

With the support of Obra Social La Caixa.

2015-2016, WE EXIST, self-portraits in prison: a project in which NuĂąez trained a group of photography students to use her method, first on themselves and then on three groups of Norwegian prisoners in Bredtveit, Ila and Ullersmo prisons in the Oslo area. The project is visible on an online exhibition: http://r9b0334408.racontr.com/ and the blog: https://weexist-norway.tumblr.com/tagged/ Ullersmo+Prison - With the support of the EEA Grants of Norway.

In these two pictures, prisoners created significant scenes about offender stygma and lack of freedom of speech.

2015, Quatre Camins prison, Barcelona. A complete self-portrait workshop for 45 inmates of the addiction and violent crimes modules. A total of 25 days of workshop over a period of six months. Guided by the artist, participants produced an autobiographical booklet with self-portraits, family pictures, landscapes from our archives and from the internet, and texts.

With the support of Obra Social La Caixa.

2013 and 2014, two workshops at Bredtveit prison in Oslo, for women. The first one was introductory, and participants were allowed not to show their face. The second one was complete, with emotional and relationship self-portraits, and finally their self-portrait project.

With the support of the EEA Grants of Norway and the Norwegian directorate of correctional services.

2009, San Vittore prison, Milan. A complete self-portrait workshop for 11 women. Twelve days over a period of 4 months.

Participants produced self-portraits on the expression of emotions, the body, character representation and relationships. They worked both individually with the artist and shared the images with the group of women, finally building their self-portrait projects. http://selfportrait-experience.com/2013101the-self-portrait-experience-at-san-vittore-prison-milan/ Participant’s feedback: - This workshop allowed me to express my deepest emotions in total freedom. I didn’t even know I had those feelings inside me. Looking at the pictures is tough at first, but you get used to them and you accept them.

- I have discovered very positive aspects of myself by working on the images.

- I have learned that photography allows us to express very deep things and that it’s a very powerful tool to communicate them to others.

- Many childhood and teenage memories came back during the workshop. All my life was in those photos.

- This workshop has helped me to release inner tension. I remember I was in my trial, glad that the next day I would participate to the workshop.

- I see myself differently now. I think I’ve accepted things I hated of my face and body. Seeing my vulnerability and sharing it with others has given me inner strength. I actually saw both weakness and strength in the same picture.

- I had no idea that our two sides of the face expressed such different emotions and thoughts.

Feedback from inmates at Ullersmo prison, Oslo area

Each inmate filled in a form with questions, individually. I’ll copy here each question and some of the inmates’ replies.

What is it you most liked about the workshop?

• I was inspired by how we looked at the photographs and saw feelings like sadness and happiness, how we saw ourselves from another point of view.

• The friendship and the openness that was created there!!

• To be creative and in touch with yourself • To learn the technique of taking the right picture and knowing what to look for in them • To discover things about myself and it was fun to take photos.

• • • • • • • • • •

To see your own pictures in another way The individual photo-sessions The good fellowship and learning about myself I got the possibility to be creative and learned a lot The team and method was very professional and there was a link from beginning to the end.

Looking at myself from another point of view I liked being taught how to look at things from a different point of view The finished result.

Building self-confidence I’ve never seen anything like this before, it’s been a good experience

What is it that you didn’t like, or liked less?

- To sit still - A little too long work on each photo (should be max. 15 minutes) - Nothing. Maybe a little too short time to do it - The relationship photo-sessions - It was very tough to start taking pictures - Too short time to take pictures Did you learn to perceive photographs in-depth? Please explain - Yes! The guys on the department and I were talking about the experience first thing after ending the workshop.

- Yes, from now on I will look at photos in another way

- Yes, I learned to see different emotions in each side of the face - Yes. Before I was just looking at pictures, now I can study them in-depth.

- Yes, I learned that a picture is not meant to be looked at quickly. You can see so much, how the subject is feeling, even when he knows that he’ll be looked at.

- I learned to look for the person in the picture, his feelings and emotions.

- Yes, I did. I learned that a photo can be interpreted in many different ways.

Did you manage to express emotions in your self-portrait? Did you find it useful?

Why? - The pictures were expressing more emotion than I felt when I took them. This was an experience for life, I’m so glad I lived it. You created a good and safe environment for us - Yes. Now I’m not so embarrassed when I see myself.

- Yes, now I look at my pictures differently, on both sides of the face and I’ve discovered that other people don’t see what I see.

- Yes, it was my first time. Before I didn’t realize the power of photography.

- I learned much about my own expressions and I am now more aware of my face.

- Yes, it was useful. It helped me look at myself from a new perspective.

What other did you learn?

- To make a project, to put together pictures.

- I learned to trust people that I don’t know much, and that making friends is not so scary after all.

- Not to feel stupid in front of a camera. Every picture is good in an artistic way.

- How to look at emotions in a picture.

- That there is beauty in every picture.

- Not to hate myself.

Did you discover something of yourself and you didn’t know? Please explain.

- Yes, I see both sadness and happiness more clearly.

- Yes, some pictures show myself completely different.

- Yes, that I’m interested in photos and film, so now I want to continue.

- Yes, I like to see that I handled the relationship pictures well.

- Yes, in some ways I managed to get my feelings out there.

- Yes, because I had never done anything like this and will not be able to do it in the future.

- Oh yes of course, to see myself as multi-faceted. Many faces.

- Yes, I did, but it’s hard to explain. I realize that how I look is different than I thought.

Did you discover something of your fellow participants that you didn’t know? Please explain.

- People are often not as scary as they look like.

- Yes, some look very different on the pictures.

- I noticed that we are all more helpful and tender to each other.

- Yes, that they are “softer”.

- Yes, I did see aspects I didn’t know of them.

- Yes, I had never seen them with such expressions and such different emotions. I see them as if they were other people now.

- Yes, that pictures can express what the subject is not aware of.

Was it difficult to share your images with your fellow participants? Did you find it useful?

- At the beginning yes, but after a while it was ok. Good to hear the others’ reactions and impressions on my photos.

- Yes, because I am a very shy person. I open up only to close people.

- Not so difficult. I was actually impressed that I felt good about it.

Did you like to see your fellow inmates’ pictures? Why? - Yes, I could see the others’ feelings and the categories of feelings (anger, sadness, etc).

- I’ve seen them from another point of view.

- Yes, to see that they also opened up and let their inner walls come down.

What are the effects of the workshop on your self-esteem or on your emotions?

- It gives you the belief that you can do more in life, than you are aware of.

- I feel a lot better and I now know that I’m the master of my own emotions.

Will you continue your autobiographical project after you are released?

- Yes, and I want to keep in touch with Cristina and her team.

Cristina Nuñez Born in 1962 in Spain, Cristina Nuñez started taking self-portraits in 1988 as a form of self-therapy, to overcome low self-esteem and a heroin addiction in her teenage. Up to the early 2000s, she produced photography books in which she addressed social questions through the portrait. On the margins of this public body of work, she continued taking self-portraits, which became Someone to Love; since 2005 this has been the focus of her work, as well as of The Self-Portrait Experience workshops that she has been conducting around the world.

In 2013 she started her ongoing net-art project La Vie en Rose, on video, performance and web platform, with the real goal of finding her perfect partner. Nuñez considers herself a social activist, using her own life to stimulate the viewer to mirror himself in her emotional work.

Her works have been presented around the world, published in monographic and collective books and are part of private and public collections. In 1996 Heaven on Earth won the award Mosaique of Luxemburg. In 2012 Someone to Love obtained the Celeste Prize and But Beautiful got the Prix de la Critique 2013 at the Voies Off Festival, Arles.

Her works have been presented at the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence (1997), Palazzo Reale in Milan (1997), the Rencontres d’Arles (1998), the Centre National de l’Audiovisuel in Luxembourg (2008), the Fabbrica del Vapore in Milan (2008), Festival FotoGrafia in Rome (2009), the Private Space Gallery in Barcelona (2010), the Mois de la Photo in Montreal 2011, Turku European Capital of Culture 2011, Luova gallery in Helsinki (2012), H2O gallery in Barcelona (2012), Effearte Gallery in Milan (2013) and MUSAC (2013). In 2011, she was showing her works in “Second Lives. Jeux masqués et autres Je” at Casino Luxembourg, as part of the Mois Européen de la Photographie.

Her work has been published in numerous monographic and collective books, and is part of several public and private collections such as the Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, the Museum of Contemporary Photography of Cinisello Balsamo (Milan), The Private Space Gallery in Barcelona, the Centre Nationale de l’Audiovisuel in Luxemburg and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Switzerland.

Nuñez is currently pursuing a PhD by published works at the College of Arts of the University of Derby. www.cristinanunez.com - www.self-portrait.eu

L’associazione The Self-Portrait Experience

Roberto Mucchiut

Born in Morges (CH) in 1960, Roberto Mucchiut is a multi-media artist specialized in new digital media. He works with photography, video, music/sound design and produces interactive digital works.

He regularly collaborates in theatrical projects (designing and producing scenographies with video, lights and sound) and music projects (electronic and contemporary music) in Switzerland and internationally.

Roberto regularly exhibits his photography and video projects and artistic installations and works on audiovisual projects with high improvisation and live performance, experimenting new ways of creating sound and images and new expressive languages. He also collaborates with institutions on educational and artistic projects involving adolescents, young people, people with mental and physical handicap. http://www.seti.ch

Press selection: SÁBADO, 5 OCTUBRE 2013

LA CONTRA Cristina Núñez, fotógrafa VÍCTOR-M. AMELA

Tengo 51 años. Tras 24 en Italia, he vuelto a Barcelona y me he ido a vivir a Cardedeu. Tengo dos hijas, de 22 y de 12 años. Me interesa más el movimiento social, y sobre todo la interioridad de las personas, que el movimiento político. Tengo todas las creencias y ninguna

“La vulnerabilidad es la verdadera fuerza” Atreverse a mirar

CRISTINA NÚÑEZ

u pelo?

Una nueva Cristina, algo sobre

tuyéndome. Tenía que llevar a casa el dinero suficiente para la dosis de los dos.

Quiso huir del ambiente burgués. A los 15 años, su novio, un obrero guapo y tan rabioso contra el mundo como ella, la inició en la heroína. Dice que quería llamar la atención de su familia: hermanas brillantes y padres separados. Tocó fondo y tras peregrinar por varios centros de desintoxicación comenzó a autorretratarse en los momentos de mie-

IMA SANCHÍS

LLUÍS AMIGUET

extoxicómanos. Algunos, con el dinero que les donaban, recaían; pegar era lo de menos.

Acabé escapándome. Volví a casa de mi madre y nuestra relación fue maravillosa. Quería reconstruirme. Empecé terapia. Al cabo de tres años conocí a un fotógrafo italiano. ¿Se enamoró?

Sí, y me fui con él a Italia. Yo le ayudaba en su trabajo, él hacía retratos y conseguía sacar el alma de las personas. Pensé que aquello era fantástico y empecé a autorretratarme. Al cabo de seis años ya fotografiaba a otros y obtuve mi primer premio. ¿Cómo se lo tomó su pareja?

Al principio me ayudó mucho, pero dejé de ser la asistente perfecta y nos separamos.

Depresión total, pero seguí haciéndome retratos y me di cuenta de que después de cada sesión, de sacar mi desesperación frente a la cámara, me sentía mucho mejor, revivía.

El autorretrato como autoterapia...

Llegué a la conclusión de que ese mirarse a uno mismo tenía mucho poder y empecé a dar cursos de autorretrato con dos objetivos: sacar tu creatividad y trabajar tu fuerza. Comencé a estudiar, a escribir, a buscar y a crear el método para explorar el dolor.

Póngame un ejemplo.

Me fotografío en la peor discusión con mi hija, dejo ahí toda la rabia y puedo pasar a otra cosa. Una foto bella sobre algo de lo que te avergüenzas es catártica.

Autor, sujeto y espectador a la vez.

Sí, todo al mismo tiempo, eso estimula el subconsciente para que saque lo que tiene que decir. Debes poner la atención y mirar todo tu ser, lo peor primero.

Trabaja con empresarios y convictos.

Con los primeros, sobre las competencias del liderazgo: son cargos medios, los que re-

5

S

u pelo?

Una nueva Cristina, algo sobre lo que trabajo mucho: la multiplicidad; yo soy esto, pero también soy aquello. ¿Ha sido muchas?

He sido toxicómana, prostituta, ladrona. Pero he transformado todo eso en arte.

Viene usted de una buena familia...

Sí. Mi padre fue el único de nueve hermanos que no era un militar franquista. Yo soy la quinta de seis hermanas. El año pasado murieron dos de cáncer. ...

Yo quería ser como ellas, como todas mis hermanas: asertivas, fuertes, revolucionarias. Me sentía invisible. Creo que me empecé a drogar porque quería que me vieran, atraer su atención. Estuve metida en la heroína con mi novio durante cinco años. ¿A qué edad?

De los 15 a los 20. Tuve la suerte de sobrevivir a ello, incluso de no coger el sida. ¿Cuándo se prostituyó?

Durante el último año, a los 19, el más sórdido. Me había llevado toda la plata de la familia. En los últimos años empezamos a robar, luego mi novio cayó enfermo y acabé prosti-

CRISTINA NÚÑEZ

tuyéndome. Tenía que llevar a casa el dinero suficiente para la dosis de los dos. ¿Qué ha sacado de ahí?

La prostitución me marcó: años de terapia para superar muchos problemas sexuales, como la frigidez. Un día mi padre me vio pasar con un cliente y me dijo que no quería volver a verme si seguía con esa vida. ¿Le sirvió?

Me di cuenta de que eso me salvó la vida un año después, en su funeral. Yo sólo me quedé con el “no quiero volver a verte”. Me dijo justo lo que no quería oír, yo era una exhibicionista y lo sigo siendo. ... Y autodestructiva.

Si sobrevives a una cosa así, entonces manos a la obra, hay que agradecer esta suerte. ¿Cómo lo hizo?

Estuve en varios centros, me mandaban de uno a otro, era una rebelde, muy provocadora, tenía un comportamiento alucinante. En estos centros te maltrataban: en una ocasión me pegaron hasta dejarme inconsciente, en otra me cogieron por los pies y me metieron en la fosa séptica, Yo, literalmente, he nadado en la mierda. ¿Por qué este maltrato?

No existían reglas, eran centros regidos por

Quiso huir del ambiente burgués. A los 15 años, su novio, un obrero guapo y tan rabioso contra el mundo como ella, la inició en la heroína. Dice que quería llamar la atención de su familia: hermanas brillantes y padres separados. Tocó fondo y tras peregrinar por varios centros de desintoxicación comenzó a autorretratarse en los momentos de miedos, ira, desesperación.

Descubrió el poder sanador de esa autoexploración y empezó a dar cursos y a retratar emociones ajenas. Ha ganado importantes premios y ha expuesto en medio mundo. Ha realizado un trabajo en la cárcel de Lledoners auspiciado por La Caixa y acaba de presentar But beautiful, un libro autobiográfico.

Al principio me ayudó mucho, pero dejé de ser la asistente perfecta y nos separamos.

Depresión total, pero seguí haciéndome retratos y me di cuenta de que después de cada sesión, de sacar mi desesperación frente a la cámara, me sentía mucho mejor, revivía.

El autorretrato como autoterapia...

Llegué a la conclusión de que ese mirarse a uno mismo tenía mucho poder y empecé a dar cursos de autorretrato con dos objetivos: sacar tu creatividad y trabajar tu fuerza. Comencé a estudiar, a escribir, a buscar y a crear el método para explorar el dolor.

Póngame un ejemplo.

Me fotografío en la peor discusión con mi hija, dejo ahí toda la rabia y puedo pasar a otra cosa. Una foto bella sobre algo de lo que te avergüenzas es catártica.

Autor, sujeto y espectador a la vez.

Sí, todo al mismo tiempo, eso estimula el subconsciente para que saque lo que tiene que decir. Debes poner la atención y mirar todo tu ser, lo peor primero.

Trabaja con empresarios y convictos.

Con los primeros, sobre las competencias del liderazgo: son cargos medios, los que reciben la presión de los de arriba y de los de abajo. En las cárceles me ofrecí para hacer talleres, era una deuda personal, ya que yo me salvé.

Entiendo.

He aprendido a tratar con mi vulnerabilidad. Muy fácilmente me siento menos.

Nos pasa a todos.

Ahora que estoy reconocida, que tengo seguidores, sé que la vulnerabilidad es la verdadera fuerza. Pero me ha costado entenderlo, porque me odiaba cuando veía cómo me encogía ante la asertividad de los otros. ...

Hoy pido a la gente que entra en mi estudio que me entregue su vulnerabilidad, y eso me permite relacionarme con las personas desde ahí.

De vulnerabilidad a vulnerabilidad. ... Una relación preciosa y profunda. También he entendido que todo tiene sentido, y eso me ha ayudado a aceptar las sacudidas de la vida. Es algo que me repito: todo tiene sentido. Has de encontrar la belleza en lo que te espanta.

IMA SANCHÍS

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4

10 DE SEPTIEMBRE DEL 2013

PROYECTOS. Arriba, una imagen de uno de los trabajos audiovisuales del taller de videoarte de Ferran Gassiot que se lleva a cabo en los centros de CaixaForum. A la derecha, bailarines con discapacidad visual danzan ante el público en una de las presentaciones del espectáculo de Espais Cecs). A la izquierda, una de las fotografías de las sesiones de autorretrato de la artista-fotógrafa Cristina Nuñez.

El arte de mejorar a través de la expresión creativa Artes plásticas, música, teatro, danza y literatura ayudan a personas discapacitadas o en riesgo de marginación a construir su integración en un futuro mejor. La Obra Social La Caixa estimula sus creaciones con el programa Art per a la Millora Social.

Carme ESCALES

L

a libertad expresiva que propicia la creación artística y el protagonismo vital que adquiere su autor, que puede hacer oír su voz gracias al arte, son dos de los valores que dan sentido y enriquecen proyectos artísticos que integran entre sus participantes a personas en riesgo de marginación social.

Seguridad, autoconfianza, autoestima, habilidades, aptitudes y responsabilidad se refuerzan a través de la experiencia creativa.

Con esa base teórica como punto de partida, la Obra Social La Caixa puso en marcha hace cinco años su programa Art per a la Millora Social.

La entidad catalana impulsa con él

proyectos de artistas que, a través de disciplinas como la danza, el videoarte, la fotografía o el teatro facilitan espacios de expresión íntima y liberadora a personas que conviven con una discapacidad o que son más susceptibles a la vulnerabilidad social por dificultades que atraviesan o que vivieron y por ello la sociedad las estigmatizó.

«Apoyamos a artistas que ayudan a esas personas a mejorar su desarrollo personal y social con el arte y la cultura como herramientas de intervención social», describe Ignasi Miró, director del Área de Cultura de la Obra Social La Caixa. «Queremos que el arte sea una forma de expresión, un medio para hablar, para tener voz socialmente. El arte, o el proceso creativo, no es un fin en sí mismo, sino un vehículo para dar voz a personas que normalmente no

«El arte, o el proceso creativo, no es un fin en sí mismo, sino un vehículo para dar voz a personas que normalmente no la tienen»

la tienen», añade Ignasi Miró. «No es muy común en nuestro país el trabajo directo de artistas con colectivos sociales más desfavorecidos, hay mucha más tradición de ello en países anglosajones. Por eso nosotros decidimos apoyar a los que sí que lo hacen aquí», afirma Miró.

Cada año, la Obra Social La Caixa abre una convocatoria para que entidades culturales y artistas plásticos, fotógrafos, músicos, actores, bailarines y escritores presenten sus proyectos de actividades culturales que implican la participación activa de colectivos de personas con el objetivo común de favorecer procesos de transformación personal y social.

El programa Art per a la Millora Social es una de las siete convocatorias de otro programa superior: Ajudes a Projectes d’Iniciatives Socials, ya que todos los proyectos presentados sur-

ARTE ÚTIL. Bailarines de Espais Cecs.

QuÉ EVO VO V HAY De NuEV H

Las drogas ante el objetivo

ÎEl primero, en 2001, fue

conectada a...

el Everest; el último, en 2010, el Shisha Pangma. Y así, la alpinista guipuzcoana Edurne Pasabán culminó su sueño dorado: coronar los 14 “ochomiles” del mundo.

Y la rma Kukuxumusu lo celebra con esta camiseta conmemorativa: ocho cimas, un divertido retrato de Pasabán y una frase muy personal de Edurne: “Siempre he buscado la felicidad y en las montañas he encontrado algo muy parecido”.

los viajes Îwww.strollon. co.uk. Las guías urbanas más ligeras: descárgalas en tu reproductor de Mp3 y a caminar. Îwww.onebag.com.

Consejos para viajar ligero, de vacaciones o por negocios. Îwww.luxurylink. com. ¿Buscas un lujo? Escapadas de alto nivel para todos los gustos. gust

Fotos: D.R.

Una camiseta para 14 éxitos

L creadora y La pprotagonista de todas imágenes es Cristina estas im Núñez. No es una “celebrity” ni una artista mundialmente famosa y, durante 20 años, la gura más importante de sus retratos ha sido ella misma. Pero su obra tiene un signicado muy especial: estos autorretratos le han servido como terapia para abandonar la heroína y para mantenerse lejos de las drogas. Ahora visita cárceles y centros de desintoxicación para difundir su método (algo que considera “su misión”) e intenta que empresas y entidades sociales descubran la fotografía como una herramienta terapéutica.

Además, acaba de publicar un libro, “Someone to love” (49 €, a la venta en www. theprivatespacebcn.com), en el que muestra sus imágenes y cuenta toda su experiencia vital: su niñez “bien”, su difícil adolescencia, su atracción por el mundo de las drogas...

Los domingos, toca cine con ABC ÎAhora, las mejores películas

de la cartelera llegan cada domingo por sólo 1 €. No tienes más que acercarte al quiosco y pedir la película que distribuye cada semana el diario ABC. El próximo domingo, por ejemplo, podremos disfrutar de una historia llena de aventura, amor y pirámides: “La momia”, protagonizada por Brendan Fraser y Rachel Weisz. El domingo 16 los

lectores de ABC se divertirán con otro viaje por tierras exóticas gracias a “El último samirái”: la historia del capitán Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), un hombre a la deriva que descubre una nueva razón para vivir en el modo de vida samurái. El domingo 23 será el turno de algo más actual: “Reservoir dogs”.

TV reportage in the daily news TVE1 about the project in Brians 1 prison. http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/telediario/telediario-15-horas-27-06-11/1139553/

TV features in Spain: http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/la-tarde-en-24-horas/tarde-24-horas-cultura-24-03-04-13/1746168/ http://www.btv.cat/alacarta/btv-noticies-mati/20498/?v=1342598085 2 minutes in the daily news Telediario TVE1, about the project in Brians 1 prison: http://www.rtve.es/alacarta/videos/telediario/telediario-15-horas-27-06-11/1139553/

Press dossier: https://issuu.com/cristinanunez3/docs/dossier_press_engcompletosm2017

Other links: https://www.facebook.com/cristina.nunez.3760 https://www.facebook.com/TheSelfPortraitExperience/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinanunez/ https://twitter.com/CristinaNunezS https://www.instagram.com/cristinanunez62/

Association THE SELF-PORTRAIT EXPERIENCE Via Balbio 24F 6834 Morbio Inferiore Ticino, Switzerland www.selfportrait-experience.com pr@self-portrait.eu