Someone To LoveCristina Nuñez

www.self-portrait.euwww.cristinanunez.com

Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes 780, 5-2, 08013 Barcelona, Spain T+34932453655 M+34617142366 - cristinanunez.self@gmail.com

“Someone To Love” brings together for the first time the self-portraits taken by Cristina Nunez, enabling her to develop over 25 years her method The Self Portrait Experience®, a process of inner exploration shared with the public. Nuñez believes that “The separation between art and therapy is intolerable” and considers the method as the main part of her artwork.

Cristina Nuñez began taking photographic self-portraits in private in 1988 to overcome self-esteem issues that led her to drug addiction during her teenage. This practice allowed her to shape her own emotions and to reveal her presence to the world. At the same time, through an uncompromising gaze on herself, she created a powerful instrument to project the plasticity of her identity. These images became a form of self-therapy through which Nuñez could gain access to her Higher Self.

SOMEONE TO LOVE

Sick Cris (Milan, 1999)50x50cm

PREVIOUS PAGES:Compensating the past (Mauthausen, 1995 – Cartagena, 1943 - Madrid, 1939)Triptych, 50x79cm

I am Aisha (Travnik, Bosnia, 1998)50x50cm Fasting, fifth day (Pescara, 1996)50x50cm I am (San Benedetto al Tronto, 1999)50x50cm

Blonde Cris (Milan, 1999)50x50cm

About being seen (Barcelona, 1974)50x68cm

LEFT:

COVER:

All the photos are Giclée prints on baryta fine art papereditions of 5 + 2 AP

“Someone to Love” (1988-2011) consists of 21 large photographs and over a hundred small format images, forming a sort of “lifeline” on the walls of the gallery. The many portraits of the author are combined with some significant images of her ancestors and with the portraits she made of her family, investigating the relationships with them and among them, and showing a constant pursuit of her own roots and identity through the faces and bodies.

Two videos complete the exhibition: Someone to Love, a diaporama with the artist’s voice narrating her story, and Higher Self, a presentation of her neo-humanist philosophy, her innovative approach and her vision of art as a powerful tool for social activism.

Our bodies (Milan, 1994 – Granada, 1931)Diptych 50x128,18cm Giclée print on baryta fine art paperEdition of 5 + 2 AP

“Someone to Love” was first shown in September 2011 at the Centre des Arts Actuels Skol, as one of the 25 exhibitions of the Mois de la Photo de Montréal 2011, according to the theme proposed by curator Anne-Marie Ninacs: Lucidity. Inward Views. In Montreal, “Someone to Love” had 2350 visitors. Subsequently, the exhibition moved to MS Gallery in Madrid and to H2O Gallery in Barcelona. Luova Gallery in Helsinki will exhibit the project in October 2012.

The photographic film Someone To Love has been also projected by Les Nuits Photographiques at Pavillon Du Lac in Paris and at Galerie du Magasin de Jouets in Arles during the opening week of Les Rencontres de la Photographie, in July 2012.

The author whishes to thank the Consell Nacional de la Cultura i de les Arts and the Oficina de Suport a la Iniciativa Cultural Departament de Cultura for their generous support.

Dancing for Manolo (Kintuplifoto, Granada, 1897 – Milan, 2004)Diptych 50x51cm Giclée print on baryta fine art paperEdition of 5 + 2 AP

Edit Piaf self portrait (Gorgonzola, 2009)50x66cm

PREVIOUS PAGES:Despair (Gorgonzola, 2008)50x66cm After the tempest (Gorgonzola, 2009)50x66cm

All the photos are Giclée prints on baryta fine art papereditions of 5 + 2 AP

Self-Portrait with Mom 1 (Barcelona, 2010)50x66cm Giclée print on baryta fine art paperEdition of 5 + 2 AP

Self-Portrait with Mom 2 (Barcelona, 2010)50x66cm Giclée print on baryta fine art paperEdition of 5 + 2 AP

Videos

Someone To LoveA photographic film with the artist’s voice narrating her story

Diaporama24’20’’Original language: English

Link to the subtitled video (Spanish)https://vimeo.com/46802785

Link to the subtitled video (French)https://vimeo.com/46693349

Link to the subtitled video (Italian)https://vimeo.com/46194436

Videos

Higher Self, the philosophyA presentation of the neo-humanist philosophy of the author, her innovative ap-proach and her vision of art as a powerful tool for social activism.

Self-interview23’5’’Original language: English

Link to the subtitled video (Spanish)https://vimeo.com/46807213

Link to the subtitled video (French)https://vimeo.com/46704234

Link to the subtitled video (Italian)https://vimeo.com/46361965

Views of the exhibition at Centre des Arts Actuels Skol, Montreal, CanadaSeptember 9 - October 15, 2011Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, Lucidity, inward views, curated by Anne Marie Ninacs

Views of the exhibition at Centre des Arts Actuels Skol, Montreal, CanadaSeptember 9 - October 15, 2011Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, Lucidity, inward views, curated by Anne Marie Ninacs

Views of the exhibition at MS Gallery, Madrid, SpainApril 12 - May 17, 2012

Views of the exhibition at MS Gallery, Madrid, SpainApril 12 - May 17, 2012

Views of the exhibition at H2O Gallery, Barcelona, SpainJuly 13 - August 10, 2012

Views of the exhibition at H2O Gallery, Barcelona, SpainJuly 13 - August 10, 2012

My Mamiya is my medicine (Gorgonzola, 2008)50x66,5cm Giclée print on baryta fine art paperEdition of 5 + 2 AP

THE SELF PORTRAIT EXPERIENCE®A workshop by Cristina NuñezA collaborative self-portrait workshop for the public usually accompanies Cristina Nuñez exhibitions, as The Self Portrait Experience method is a significant part of the author’s artistic philosophy.“Someone To Love” is also the primary source of Nuñez’s method, which is based on the possibility of converting pain into art. Therefore, the exhibition and the workshops can be considered as two sides of the same project.

The images created during the workshops become part of Cristina Nuñez artistic project Higher Self and could be exhibited if the participants agree to publish them.

THE SELF-PORTRAIT EXPERIENCE comes from Nuñez’s personal experience, using the photo self-portrait as self-therapy since 1988, after her troubled adolescence as a heroin addict and a prostitute. The method’s goal is the exploration of one’s own identity and the stimulation of the creative process through a series of exercises and the use of specific artistic criteria for the intuitive perception and choice of the works. Since 2005, Nuñez has divulged her method holding workshops and conferences in prisons, mental health institutions, universities, companies, galleries, museums and photography schools in Italy, Spain, Finland, United States, Canada, Luxemburg and UK.

Eli (Barcelona, 2010)100x70cmGiclée print on baryta fine art paper, edition of 5 + 2 AP A free workshop for women at The Private Space Gallery

Lidia (Barcelona, 2010)100x70cmGiclée print on baryta fine art paper, edition of 5 + 2 AP A free workshop for women at The Private Space Gallery

The works of Higher Self are collaborative self-portraits people take, alone in Cristina Nuñez studio, during the self-portrait workshops.

Participants take a series of images following her guidelines to express their difficult emotions in front of the camera. With The Self-Portrait Experience, anybody can use their own pain –instead of avoiding it- to build an artwork which is useful for mankind and, at the same time, experience the creative process, under the artist’s guidance. Looking at the images and choosing the work of art with the precise criteria proposed by the artist is an intense journey into what Nuñez calls our “cavern”, which always brings unexpected discoveries.

In the self-portrait we are author, subject and spectator. The dynamics of “gazes” between the three roles stimulates our higher self, which expresses itself through the language of art and iconography. The triple role of the self-portraitist intensifies the relationship between the artist and the spectator. It’s as if the artist was saying “This concerns you personally and deeply”.

The self-portrait is the only possible image of the creator of that image, in the precise moment of the creation of the image. It is the portrait of our Creative Self, of our Higher Self.

“We all possess a Higher Self, even those who, because of their ostracism, seem to have forgotten it”

Sebastian (Turku, 2010) A workshop for the European Capital of CultureMónica (Barcelona, 2011) A workshop for women in prison at Brians 1

Laura (Turku, 2011) A workshop at the Symposium of PhototherapyBettina (Montreal, 2011) A workshop during Le Mois de la Photo in Montreal

Camilla (Milan, 2009) A workshop at MC2 GalleryHilma (Turku, 2010) A workshop for the European Capital of Culture

Davide (Milan, 2009) A workshop at MC2 GalleryElina (Turku, 2010) A workshop for the European Capital of Culture

CRISTINA NUÑEZ BIOGRAPHY

Born in Figueras (Spain) in 1962, Cristina Nuñez is a self-taught artist-photographer whose work has been published and exhibited internationally.

Following a troubled adolescence with drugs, Cristina Nuñez has been taking self-portraits since 1988 as a form of self-therapy, to explore her personal and creative identity and to raise her self-esteem, especially in moments of crisis. In 2007 she started to put together her project SOMEONE TO LOVE, her autobiography in self-portraits, family pictures, video and text.

In 2005 Nuñez built THE SELF-PORTRAIT EXPERIENCE®, her own method to expo-re one’s own inner life using the self-portrait, with guidelines for an intuitive percep-tion and choice of the works. Since 2005 Nuñez teaches her self-portrait method in workshops and conferences in galleries, museums, fine art accademies, prisons, men-tal health centers, untiversities.

Her works have been shown at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles, at the Casino of Luxemburg, at the Mois de la Photo in Montreal, at Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, at Palazzo Reale in Milan, at the Centre Nationale de l’Audiovisuel in Luxemburg, at the Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea in Cinisello Balsamo, at The Private Space Gallery and H2O Gallery in Barcelona, at Peri Photographic Centre in Turku and at the Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki.

WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES, list of venues:

FORMA, International Center of Photography in Milan. www.formafoto.it MUSEO DI FOTOGRAFIA CONTEMPORANEA, Cinisello Balsamo, Milan, Italy.CASINO DE LUXEMBOURGUNIVERSITY OF LUXEMBURGDOMUS ACADEMY OF FASHION AND DESIGN, Milan, Italy.UNIVERSITY OF BOLOGNA, Italy. UNIVERSITY OF TURKU, special workshops for therapists, Finland.TURKU ACADEMY OF ARTS, special workshop for artists, Finland.FINNISH ASSOCIATION OF PHOTO-THERAPY, Turku, Finland.HOUSING WORKS, Women Health Centre, Brooklyn, New York.INSTITUTE FOR THE ARTS IN PSYCHOTHERAPY, New York City.NSTITUTE OF FAMILY THERAPY, Florence, Italy.ARIELE, school of psychotherapy, Milan, Italy. CENTRO CULTURALE CANDIANI, Venice, Italy.TAMPERE UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL, Finland. RUDOLF STEINER SCHOOL, for teenagers, Milan, Italy.CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY IN MILAN, for psychologists, Milan.PHILO, school for philosophical practices, Milan.SDA BOCCONI SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, corporate training, Milan.SAN VITTORE prison, Milan.BRIANS 1 prison, Barcelona.WAD RAS prison, Barcelona.

CITILAB, Barcelona.LUOVA gallery, Helsinki.MC2 gallery, Milan.MS Galería, Madrid.CONSARC gallery, Chiasso, Switzerland.SKOL, Centre des Arts Actuels, Montreal, Canada.SPAZIO LABÒ, Bologna.HOTEL DIANA MAJESTIC, Milan.MARKETING FORUM, corporate training, MilanWATSON WYATT, corporate training, Milan.SAATCHI & SAATCHI, corporate training, Milan.MIDA, corporate training, Milan. ASL LUCCA, Mental Health Dept, Lucca, Italy.ISPA, art therapy school, Barcelona.SISTEMA COUNSELING, Milan.BOTTEGA IMMAGINE, Milan.UNIVERSITY OF ROEHAMPTON, London.NEW YORK UNIVERSITYUNIVERSITY OF NORTHAMPTONUNIVERSITY OF BARCELONAUNIVERSITY BICOCCA, Milan

PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEO PROJECTS:

2012 – LA VIE EN ROSE (in progress)2012 – THE LAST BREATH (in progress)2009 – 12 – HIGHER SELF, collaborative self-portraits (ongoing)1988 – 2011 – SOMEONE TO LOVE, her autobiography in self-portraits1999 – 2000 – I AM, about quitting drugs1996 – 98 – HEAVEN ON EARTH, about spirituality in Europe1995 – 97 – TO HELL AND BACK, about Holocaust survivors1994 – 95 – BODY AND SOUL, portraits and nudes

SELECTED ONE-PERSON EXHIBITIONS:

2012 “Someone to Love”, H2O Gallery, Barcelona.2012 “Someone to Love”, MS Galería, Madrid.2011 “Someone to Love”, video première, H2O gallery Barcelona.2011 “Someone to Love”, Skol, Mois de la Photo de Montreal.2010 “Higher Self, the self-portrait experience”, The Private Space, Barcelona. 2007 “Young Italian Gentle Men”, Spazio Private Larusmiani, Milan2000 “I Am”, Galeria Franca Speranza, Milan 1998 “Homebirth”, La Lunanuova, Milan. 1998 “To Hell and back”, Risiera di San Sabba (Trieste, Italy). 1998 “To Hell and back”, Vigo (Spain). 1997 “To Hell And Back”:

Palazzo Vecchio, Florence Biblioteca Nazionale, Turín Museo Monumento al Deportato, Carpi (Italy) Palazzo Reale, Milan Encontros de Fotografia, Coimbra (Portugal). 1995 “Body And Soul”, Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Florence.

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS:

2012 “Someone to Love”, Galerie du Magasin de Jouets Les Nuits Photographiques, Arles. 2012 “Someone to Love”, SocialFotoFest, Piombino, Italy.2012 “Someone to Love”, Pavillon du Lac, Les Nuits Photographiques, Paris. 2011 - 2000 & 11 Self-Portraits”, Finnish Museum of Photography, European Capital of Culture, Helsinki.2011 – “2000 & 11 Self-Portraits”, Peri Centre, European Capital of Culture, Turku 2011 – “Second Lives, jeux masqués et autres jeux”, Casino de Lusemburg.2010 – « Io mi vedo così, autoritratti fotografici », Centro Italiano Fotografia d’Autore, Bibbiena. 2010 “Grandi e Piccole”, Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, Cinisello Balamo, Mi-lan. 2010 “Autoritratto al femminile”, Polifemo, Fabbrica del Vapore, Milan.2010 “Foto d’Autrice”, Galleria Bel Vedere, Milan.2009 Festival FotoGrafia, Rome.

2008 “De l’Europe”, CNA, Dudelange (Luxemburg). 2006-2007 “Il sole nelle mani”, Bariphotocamera, Bari (Italy).2006 “Tales from a globalizing world”, sede de la ONU, New York.2006 “Storie della globalizzazione”, Stazione Termini, Rome.2005 “Tales from a globalizing world”, Cracovia, Viena, Dhaka. 2005 “Est-ce ainsi que les hommes vivent”, Jardins du Luxembourg, Paris. 2004 “Tales from a globalizing world”, Zurich, Chiasso (Switzerland).2003 “Quotidiano al femminile”, Galleria del Credito Valtellinese, Milan.2003 “Femmes!” Biblioteca Comune di Solaro, Milan. 2003 “Tales From A Globalizing World”, Geneva.2002 “The Spirit Of Religion”, Photocenter, Skopelos (Greece). 1999 “Papa, Maman”, Chateau de Nyon (Switzerland). 1999 “Philip Morris Gallery”, Galeria Giò Marconi, Milan. 1998 “Immagini Del Mondo Interiore”, Rencontres Internationales de la Photogra-phie, Arlés (France). 1997-98 “Bambini Di Sarajevo”, Arengario, Milan. 1997 “Humana”, cinc fotògrafs, Openspace del Arengario, Milan.1996-1997 “La Ciudad De La Diferencia”, Fundación Baruj, Espinoza, Barcelona, Ma-drid, Marseille. 1996 “Il Ritratto, Un’evoluzione”, on portraits, from Avedon to Serrano, Photology, Milan.

BOOKS:

Monographies:2010 Someone To Love, The Private Space Books, Barcelona 2006 Young Italian Gentle Men, Valentina Edizioni, Milan.2000 Io Sono, texts and images by Cristina Núñez, Dianova, Milan. 1997 All’inferno e ritorno, Art&, Udine (Italy).

Collective books and catalogues:2011 2000&11 Self-Portraits, European Capital of Culture, Turku, Finland.2011 Lucidity, Inward Views, Mois de la Photo de Montreal.2010 Autofocus, Ed. Clueb, Bologna. 2008 De L’Europe, CNA, Dudelange, (Luxemburg). 2007 Il Sole Nelle Mani, Bariphotocamera, Motta Editore, Milan. 2005 Est-Ce Ainsi Que Les Hommes Vivent, Editions du Chène, Paris. 2003 Tales From A Globalizing World, Thames & Hudson, London. 2003 Quotidiano Al Femminile, Peliti Associati, Rome.2001 The Spirit Of Religion, Skopelos (Greece).1999 Stereotipi, ed. Centro d’Iniziativa Europea, Milan. 1999 Paradise, ed. Steidl, Germany. 1997 Europa, Encontros de Fotografia de Coimbra. 1996 Humana, Art&, Udine (Italy).1996 Vita da bambino, Art&, Udine (Italy).

COLLECTIONS:

Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris. Centre Nationale de l’Audiovisuel, Dudelange (Luxemburg). Museo di Fotografia Contemporanea, Cinisello Balsamo, (Milan). SDC, Ministry of Forgeign Affairs, (Switzerland). Camera di Commercio di Bari (Italy).

AWARDS AND GRANTS2011 – CONCA , Council of the Arts and Culture of Catalunya, for exhibition SO-MEONE TO LOVE at the Mois de la Photo in Montreal and The Private Space in Bar-celona. 2010 – La Caixa Obra Social, for The Self-Portrait Experience for women inmates in prison in Barcelona. 2010 – Finalist and honourable mention at the Interim No.1 of the New York Photo Awards. 1996 – MOSAIQUE, CNA Luxemburgo, for her project HEAVEN ON EARTH, about spirituality in Europe. 1994 – “Premio per un Progetto Fotografico”, Fondazione Studio Marangoni, Floren-ce, for her project BODY AND SOUL.

EDUCATION1986 – 1994 – apprenticeship on portrait and reportage with photographer Toni Thorimbert1986-1993 – two acting seminars at The Real Stage with John Strasberg, Paris.1982-1986 – Diploma of English Studies, Cambridge University at the British Insti-tute in Barcelona.

SELECTED ARTICLES ON “THE SELF-PORTRAIT EXPERIENCE”®

Authored by Cristina Nuñez: 2012 “The self-portrait: a powerful tool for self-therapy”, 2010 “Autoritratto come auto-terapia”, AUTOFOCUS, Bologna. 2009 “The Self-portrait, a powerful tool for self-therapy”, European Journal of Psy-chotherapy and Counselling, Routledge, London. 2009 “The Self-Portrait Performance”, VoiceCom News, Milan.2008 “The Self-Portrait Experience”, Illywords, Trieste.2007 “The Self-Portrait Performance”, 7th Floor, Roma.

Authored by journalists:2011 “As fotografias que curaram”, FOCUS, Portugal. 2011 “Las drogas ante el objetivo”, ABC, Spain. 2010 “Matar la heroina disparándose a sí misma”, EL PAIS online, Spain. 2010 “El Autorretrato como terapia...”, EL MUNDO, Spain.2010 “Clic, i fora els dolors”, EL PUNT, Spain.

2010 “La terapia dell’autoscatto”, LA STAMPA, Turin. 2009 “L’Autoritratto? E’ terapeutico” CORRIERE DELLA SERA, Milan. 2009 “Self-Portrait as Self-Therapy”, VISION magazine, Beijing.2008 “Io sono adolescente”, D Repubblica, Milan.

RESEARCH AND STUDENT’S THESIS ON “THE SELF-PORTRAIT EXPERIENCE”®

The Faculty of Psychology at the Catholic University of Milan is pursuing a research on the effects of Nuñez’s method on people, which will soon be published in acade-mic journals. Of a group of 39 teenages, 38 asserted that the method had helped them see themselves in a different way.

The following students have included Nuñez’s work in their thesis:1. Adela MiencilovaDE MONFORT UNIVERSITY, Leicester, UK.MA photography“The Self as a Photographic Metaphor in Mental Health” 20102. Giuliana LioceACCADEMIA DI BELLE ARTI, Bologna, Italy. COBASLID: Corsi Biennali di Secondo Livello ad Indirizzo Didattico – Educazione Artistica“Autoritratto, tra Indice e Identità” 20093. Giada Carraro

UNIVERSITA’ DI BOLOGNA – Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Bologna, Italy.Laurea Specialistica in Storia dell’Arte“Attraverso l’obiettivo: il potere terapeutico della fotografia, tra arte e psicologia”, 20104. Alexandra Hoffman BROOKS INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY, Santa Barbara, California Master Science in Photography “Messages from the Unconscious: Self-Portrait Photography as a Discovery of Being”, 2009 5. Valentina BrivioUNIVERSITÀ CATTOLICA DEL SACRO CUORE DI MILANOFacoltà di Psicologia – Corso di Laurea in Psicologia Clinica“L’immagine Corporea degli Adolescenti: l’Autoritratto Fotografico come Auto-Defi-nizione del Sé”, 2011 6. Carla VisoneUNIVERSITÀ DEGLI STUDI SUOR ORSOLA BENINCASA, Napoli, Italy.Facoltà di Scienze della Formazione“Ignoto a me stesso: Autoritratti fotografici d’autore”, 2011.

LINK TO THE ONLINE PRESS REVIEW 2010/2012:http://issuu.com/cristinanunez3/docs/dossier_press_eng_july_2012