Isabel Muñoz, "Infancia," Caixa Forum, Madrid, Spain.
Sept. 16, 2010 – Jan. 15, 2011
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of a Child, an ambitious photographic survey is now on view at the Caixa Forum in Madrid. The exhibition uses articles from the official UNICEF framework—that states that all children, no matter what the nationality have the same rights—as a platform to advocate for disenfranchised children around the world.
The physical installation of the project is remarkable. The images are presented as five-foot high double-sided lightboxes (I would estimate that there are about 75 of them spanning two floors of the Caixa) and each of the images is an environmental portrait of a child and some contextual information.
The idea of equality is reinforced by the astounding variety of images on display. While the most powerful images are undoubtedly the images of children in tragic situations, the exhibition contains a diverse survey of children in different situations all around the world; from a young, HIV positive child in Senegal to an upper-middleclass child in suburban New Jersey. The mission of UNICEF of advocacy of the world’s young people is effectively reinforced and visualized as each child stands proudly and strongly; illuminated and preserved.
The genesis of the project was as a story for the weekly periodical El Pais Semanal, a leading Spanish publication, specializing in reportage. Isabel Muñoz and five other journalists traveled to various locations on four continents to complete the project. The project then received additional support from UNICEF and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following the current exhibition period in the Madrid, it will travel to Barcelona in the spring .
