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Cristina de Middel's Creative Process

  • emmikukkula
  • Nov 4, 2020
  • 2 min read

Cristina de Middel (b.1975) is a Spanish photojournalist turned artist known for her work combining real and fictional elements. This is what she calls “expanded documentary”.

“I mix straight documentary work with more directed scenes that complete the understanding, and that allow me to add layers that I would never otherwise be able to include”, she describes [1].

De Middel started off as a photojournalist, but after a 10 year career found herself disappointed in the industry. She had lost her faith in the media but not in photography. Wanting to share stories using photography but not through newspapers or magazines, she started to research stories that are real but unbelievable as well as stories that aren’t real but people still believe. What inspires her is the grey zone between fact and fiction [2].

Born out of that desire to question photography and the way photographers represent the world, Afronauts (2012) was her first project after leaving the newspaper. It explores the history of a failed space program in Zambia in the 1960s. Most of the photographs are re-enactments taken in her hometown in Spain, wearing costumes, including a spacesuit made by her grandmother [3].



“Before I could change the world with photography, I had to change the photography first” [3]

De Middel is inspired by not only questioning photography and media, but also by her love for science fiction, absurdity and irony. She loves playing with clichés and stereotypes. For example in Afronauts, instead of pretending to understand Africa, she pointed out the clichés by maximizing them to a ridiculous level. This was done in order to make people question them, whereas photography typically feeds to the reductive stereotypes about Africa[4]. I think De Middel has succeeded in portraying the continent from a different perspective and reminding us that there are dreamers, not only soldiers.



1. Cristina de Middel – Journey to the Center. [online]. Available at:

(Accessed 2/11/2020)

2. Vogue Italia. (2013). Focus on: Cristina de Middel. [online]. Available at:

(Accessed 2/11/2020)

3. Martin Parr Foundation. (2020). Sofa Sessions: Conversations with Martin Parr – Cristina de Middel. [online]. Available at:

(Accessed 2/11/2020)

4. King, A. (2016). Cristina de Middel: The photographer of the Post-Truth age. [online]. Available at:

(Accessed 2/11/2020)

 
 
 

And We Shall Find Tales in the Shadows

  • emmikukkula
  • Nov 4, 2020
  • 2 min read

Photovoice method is often used to give those, who feel like their voice does not matter, a chance to tell their story. For this post I looked into And We Shall Find Tales in the Shadows, a PhotoVoice project in partnership with World Vision UK documenting young Syrian refugees in Jordan.

In “And We Shall Find Tales in the Shadows” the camera was handed to 13 young people between the ages of 14 to 20. In 2014, they had just survived what is still the worst humanitarian crisis of the century [1]. The public debate on refugees often concentrates on numbers, which is why this kind of participatory approaches are needed to give the people in question a chance to express their voice. Instead of simply taking pictures of the young refugees, and that way turning their misery into art, PhotoVoice allows them an opportunity to give outsiders a glimpse into their lives. This can show a whole new perspective and also, be very empowering. [2].

The photos show a lot of fear, death, anger and frustration. Many of the young people had lost their families and been victims of sexual violence. However in many of the photos a hope for a better future is shown in a variety of ways – a moon lighting up the otherwise pitch black scene, birds in a cage captioned “even if you’re in a cage you can always sing and fly” and my favourite, two hands joined against a clear sky. However, even in this photograph the fear of losing the people around them is present (I don’t want people to leave me, they are my support. If they go, I fall)[3].


1. Inglis, S. (2020). The worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century: 5 questions on Syria answered. [online]. Available at: https://theconversation.com/the-worst-humanitarian-crisis-of-the-21st-century-5-questions-on-syria-answered-132571

(Accessed 27/10/2020)

2. Dantas, J. (2018). Empowerment and health promotion of refugee women. [online]. Available at: https://espace.curtin.edu.au/handle/20.500.11937/75503

(Accessed 27/10/2020)

3. Photovoice UK. (2014). And We Shall Find Tales In The Shadows - a unique glimpse into lives of young Syrian refugee. [online]. Available at: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qc3EWc8MB0s

(Accessed 27/10/2020)

 
 
 
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