Laia Abril

Laia Abril (born 1986) is a Catalan artist whose work relates to bio-politics, grief and women rights. Her books include The Epilogue (2014), which documents the indirect victims of eating disorders; and a long-term project A History of Misogyny which includes On Abortion (2018), about the repercussions of abortion controls in many cultures; and On Rape (2022) about gender-based stereotypes and myths, as well as the failing structures of law and order, that perpetuate rape culture.

On Abortion won the Photobook of the Year award at the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards. In 2018 she was awarded the Tim Hetherington Trust's Visionary Award to work on On Rape. For a History Of Misogyny, in 2019 she was awarded the Royal Photographic Society's Hood Medal and in 2020 she was awarded the Paul Huf Award from Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.

Life and work

Abril was born in 1986 in Barcelona, Spain. She gained a degree in journalism in Barcelona. She moved to New York City to study photography at the International Center of Photography. In 2009 she enrolled at Fabrica research centre, the artist residency of Benetton in Italy, where she worked as a staff photographer and consultant photo editor at Colors magazine for five years.

Since 2010, Abril worked on various projects exploring the subject of eating disorders:[1] A Bad Day, a short film about a young girl struggling with bulimia; Thinspiration (2012), which explores the use of photography in pro-ana websites; and The Epilogue (2014), documenting the indirect victims of eating disorders, through the story of the Robinson family and the aftermath of the death of Cammy Robinson to bulimia.[2][3][4] Critic Sean O'Hagan, wrote in The Guardian, that The Epilogue "... is a sombre and affecting photobook ... dense and rewarding ... At times, it makes for a painful read. From time to time, I had to put it down, take a breather. But I kept going back."[5]

Her long-term project A History of Misogyny includes Chapter One: On Abortion, about the repercussions of abortion controls in many different cultures;[6] and Chapter Two: On Rape: and Institutional Failure,[7] "a visualisation of the origin of gender-based stereotypes and myths, as well as the failing structures of law and order, that continue to perpetuate rape culture."[8]

Publications

Books by Abril
  • Thinspiration. Self-published zine, 2012. Designed in collaboration with art director Ramon Pez and Guillermo Brotons.
  • Tediousphilia. Lausanne: Musée de l'Élysée, 2014. ISBN 978-2883501058. Designed in collaboration with art director Pez.
  • The Epilogue. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2014. ISBN 978-1907893544. Designed in collaboration with art director Pez.
  • Lobismuller. Mexico City; Barcelona: Editorial RM, 2016. ISBN 978-8416282647. With a text by Abril and designed in collaboration with art director Pez.
  • A History of Misogyny: Chapter One: On Abortion. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2018. ISBN 978-1-911306-24-5.
  • A History of Misogyny: Chapter Two: On Rape: and Institutional Failure. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2022. ISBN 9781911306870.

Catalogues and publications with others
  • The Afronauts by Cristina de Middel. Self-published 2012. Creative Direction and editing in collaboration with Pez.
  • From Here On. Madrid: RM, 2013. Exhibition catalogue for From Here On, Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona, curated by Joan Fontcuberta, Erik Kessels, Martin Parr, Joachim Schmid and Clément Chéroux.[n 1]
  • Diccionario de Fotógrafos Españoles. Madrid: La Fabrica, 2014.
  • Under 35 Madrid: Ivorypress, 2015.
  • The Post-photographic condition by Joan Fontcuberta. Montreal: Mois de la Photo, 2015.
  • Laia Abril. PHotoBolsillo. Madrid: La Fabrica,[n 2] 2016. ISBN 978-8416248605. Spanish.
  • Featured in Aperture magazine #225, Winter 2016, "On Feminism."
  • Fenómeno Fotolibro Mexico City; Barcelona: Editorial RM, 2017.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions
  • On Rape, FOAM Museum, Amsterdam[9]
  • On Rape, Biennale de l’Image Possible, Liege[10]
  • On Rape, Les Filles du Calvaire, París, 2019[11]
  • Suyay Centre de la Photographie de Genève, November 2018.[12]
  • On Abortion, PhotoIreland, Dublin, Ireland, 2018[13]
  • On Abortion, City of Women, Ljubjiana, Slovenia, 2017[14]
  • On Abortion, Les Rencontres d’Arles, France, 2016[15][16][17][18][19]
  • Lobismuller Images Festival, Vevey, Switzerland, 2016[20]
  • Tediousphilia, Musée de l’Elysée, Laussanne, Suiza, 2015[21]

Group exhibitions or exhibitions during festivals

Awards

Collections

Abril's work is held in the following public collection:

Notes
  1. The catalogue for From Here On is reproduced here (Issuu).
  2. Not to be confused with Fabrica research centre in Italy, where Abril was enrolled.

References
  1. Segal Hamilton, Rachel (13 September 2014). "Laia Abril's Thinspiration Photos Are Unbearable". Vice. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  2. Holland, Claire (13 October 2014). "The best photography books out now". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  3. Cresswell, Joanna (1 October 2014). "The Epilogue: Laia Abril". The Photographers' Gallery. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  4. Colberg, Jörg (8 September 2014). "Laia Abril – The Epilogue". Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  5. O'Hagan, Sean (26 August 2014). "'I don't know how to get better': Laia Abril shows the hell of eating disorders". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  6. "Laia Abril On Abortion". The Guardian. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
  7. "Abril on Rape epidemic". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
  8. publishing, dewi lewis. "On Rape: and Institutional Failure". dewi lewis publishing. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  9. "On Rape at FOAM".
  10. "On Rape Liege Festival".
  11. "Laia Abril: the photographer bearing witness to rape". TheGuardian.com.
  12. "LAIA ABRIL – SUYAY – Centre Photographie Genève". Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  13. "On Abortion at Photo Ireland Festival".
  14. "ON ABORTION".
  15. "Le Monde: Laia Abril, photographe en tout genre". Le Monde.fr. 28 June 2016.
  16. "Internazionale: La fotografa che racconta la violenza dell'aborto clandestino". 21 September 2016.
  17. "The Cut: The Photographer Who Captures the Reality of Abortion Restrictions".
  18. "The New Yorker: Looking at How Abortion Restrictions Endanger Women's Lives". The New Yorker. December 2016.
  19. "Broadly: Telling the Brutal Story of Abortion Bans Around the World". The New Yorker. December 2016.
  20. "Corps et destins en tout genre". 7 September 2016.
  21. "Musée du futur à Lausanne". 11 June 2015.
  22. "From Here On (D'Ara Endavant). La postfotografia en l'era d'internet i la telefonia mòbil" (PDF). Generalitat de Catalunya (in Catalan). 2013-02-20.
  23. "Clase Magistral con Joan Fontcuberta". Gallery Sous Les Etoiles. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  24. "On Identity". Gallery Sous Les Etoiles. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  25. O'Hagan, Sean (12 July 2016). "Les Rencontres d'Arles 2016 review – twin towers and sub-Saharan slums". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  26. "Situations". fotomuseum.ch. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  27. "Las 17, CaixaForum". caixaforum.es. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  28. "Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2019". The Photographers' Gallery. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  29. Cluff, Caleb (29 July 2019). "Ten things you need to see at this year's Photo Biennale". The Courier. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  30. "Ballarat International Foto Biennale". Time Out Melbourne. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  31. "First Photobook Shortlist: The Epilogue". Paris Photo. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  32. "LAIA ABRIL, PREMIO REVELACIÓN PHOTOESPAÑA 2016". lafabrica.com.
  33. O'Hagan, Sean (5 November 2018). "Guns and poses: Deutsche Börse photography prize shortlist revealed". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  34. "Shortlist announced for the 2019 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  35. "Winners announced for the 2018 Paris Photo/Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards – British Journal of Photography". www.bjp-online.com. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  36. "The RPS Annual Awards 2019". rps.org. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  37. "Laia Abril wins Foam Paul Huf Award 2020". British Journal of Photography. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  38. Ekker, Jan Pieter (11 March 2020). "Spaanse fotograaf Laia Abril wint Foam Paul Huf Award". Het Parool. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  39. "Spaanse fotografe Laia Abril wint Foam Paul Huf Award". NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  40. "La série "On Abortion" de Laia Abril entre dans les collections du Centre Pompidou".
  41. "Collection". Fotomuseum Winterthur. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
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