Getting Closer/Acercandonos


Photography has many uses, but it's most basic one has been of documenting life giving more credibility to an event. It reinforces the acknowledgement of our memories. So, what if we don't have a document to prove it? How can we recall our history, how to witness our pass through life?

This project's objective is to create a photograph of a memory you want to have.

Many people, because of different reasons, like distance, budget, emotional conflict, etc. haven't been able to get together with their loved ones or a specific site in a long time. This project proposes to reunite these people in a photograph creating a new dimension, a new emotional reality, looking to bring up heartsease and peacefulness. The fact itself of having a photograph
of a beloved person creates a special emotional dimension, appearing together in the same photograph creates a momentum raising up the emotion.

The "client" brings a photo as a base of a memory that wants to be part of. Using digital techniques, a photograph is taken of this person and blended into the base photo to compose the memory that is wanted to be achieved.

Ana De Orbegoso, a 2008 fellow in Photography from the New York Foundation for the Arts, created this project originally for their Artist & Audiences Exchange, reaching the community through ABYAYALA Arte y Cultura, a non-profit cultural organization that preserves and promotes Latin American cultural expressions, focusing on the Andean cultures as the backbone of indigenous millenary traditions.

A sample of the photo service : Patty lives in New York and cannot travel. She hasn't been able to see her mother for more than 10 years . Patty has a New York born daughter, Andrea, and in order for her to meet her peruvian family, Patty asked the father (a Salvadorian), to take Andrea on a trip to Lima, Peru.

In this photo appear Patty's mother, her sister and her daughter Andrea. The face of the sister was then substituted with that of Patty.
This is a photograph taken of Patty's family used as the
base for the final photo. From left: Agustina (the mother),
Sandra (her sister) and Andrea (her daughter).		 In this photograph, Patty's sister's face has been replaced
with Patty's face and through this process Patty has been
"reunited" with her beloved mother.
Rosita’s parents live in El Salvador. Her father passed
away and she didn’t have a family photo with her parents
and her son Mario.		 A photo of Rosita was taken in New York including her
in the family photo. She finally had a memory of her
family together.
This gathering was especially put together in Peru by
Roque’s friends to honor the friend they hadn’t seen for
more than 10 years.		 A photo was taken of Roque in New York including him
in “his” gathering, finally reuniting him with his old friends.
Eduardo, a Peruvian artist living in New York hadn’t been
in Peru for more than 10 years, created this digital art
work using Machu Picchu as a backdrop.
 Eduardo was included in the artwork photo, giving the
idea that the artwork happened as an installation and
that Eduardo was present.
Christian lives in New York and has not visited his
homeland in more than 10 years. What he longs more is
his connection with his mother’s hometown where he lived
as a child.		 Using as a base a photo given by Christian, a portrait was
taken including him, creating a very intimate emotional
connection for him.
Regis, peruvian, lives in New York for more than 10 years.
Has a young niece in Peru   which they feel very attached
and has seen her grow up just through Skype and e-mails. 		She send him a photo and a portrait of Regis was taken
and inserted in it, creating their first photo together.
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