Ojos Propios can be translated as “Through Their Own Eyes”

Ojos Propios can be translated as “through their own eyes.”

 

The photographs displayed on the walls of the International Affairs Building at Columbia University were taken by Peruvians from a variety of origins and ages but made possible by the vision of a particular artist. Andrés Longhi has been for years a tireless advocate of “photography by and of the people.”

 

He has provided cameras and instruction on the technical and artistic components of photography to children and adults in rural communities and poor neighborhoods across the country so they can document their experiences through their own eyes to create the "Self Portrait of a Nation", as the title of the project indicates.

 

The result is a participatory process where people learn from each other in an egalitarian arrangement and where photography becomes both personal expression and collective action.

 

The sheer beauty and candor of the images validates Longhi's democratic vision of art-making.

 

 

José Moya, Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS), Columbia University