Adriana Loureiro Fernández: Paradise Lost

Adriana Loureiro Fernández has been documenting the deep-seated changes taking place in her homeland, Venezuela, for the last decade. She speaks of a generation who strive for freedom and positive change, but also of the upheavals the country has been going through for a considerable amount of time. The project is a personal examination of a crisis that is pushing millions of Venezuelans to flee, and to redefine the concept of homeland.

“Paradise Lost” has many layers: it is a chronicle of Venezuela’s downfall; a portrait of a society in upheaval; and a representation and self-reflection of young people growing up in uncertainty. Above all, however, the pictures in the project capture the soul of a country of staggering contrasts.

Loureiro Fernández was a young adult when she began this journey amid growing unrest and the increase of student protests of 2014. Her collection of visual impressions expanded consistently over time – they all reveal the country’s blatant contradictions: Venezuela has the highest rate of inflation in the world, but also some of the greatest oil reserves. It has the highest murder rate in South America, with the lowest incomes and highest rate of poverty in the western hemisphere. At the same time, it has produced the largest number of beauty queens, and is home to the world’s tallest waterfall surrounded by gorgeous nature.

Thus, Loureiro Fernández’s imagery meanders constantly between beauty and horror. An orange-red sky over bare fields symbolises the decline of “paradise”. Families playing a board game, despite flames blazing in the background, reveal a surreal normalcy in the midst of the crisis. Intimate glimpses into tight living quarters demonstrate people’s resilience, and the fact that they can find warmth and solidarity, despite all the deficiencies. Her protagonists are not simply a means for the purpose of illustrating a situation, they are people with whom she has built connections, with the aim of conveying their stories. ““Paradise Lost” is a mirror of my country but also a mirror of myself,” Loureiro Fernández explains. “I have grown within and with the project, personally and professionally.” The endeavour serves her as a field of experimentation, where she forges bonds, scrutinises her artistic approach and continues to develop. At the same time, it is an attempt to capture reality in a country where the truth is regularly suppressed by the authorities.

“I’m trying to build a library that future generations can look into, to see what we did wrong, so that hopefully these ten years don’t repeat themselves,” the photographer clarifies. She hopes that, through her pictures, viewers can come to understand the causes for the failure of her country, which on paper was destined for success and stability. In doing so, she initiates an important discussion about the preservation of democratic freedoms.

But that is not everything by a long shot. “Paradise Lost” is constantly evolving and adapting to the dynamics in the country. “Basically, each year I find a theme that I think could encompass the main story, that explains Venezuela to myself and to others,” Loureiro Fernández realises. Her dream is to complete the project once her generation has reached the goal they have so far spent ten years fighting for: freedom.

Adriana Loureiro Fernández’s project was submitted by Alejandro Cegarra, who is among this year’s 80 international LOBA nominators.