The energy of crisis: Gabriel Valansi on representing the gritty reality of social unrest

Formative experiences of trauma, instability and political violence have a way of working themselves into the oeuvres of contemporary artists of each generation. Post-war artist and contributor to the Nicole Brachetti Peretti Collection, Gabriel Valansi, was born in the 1950s into the landscape of Argentinian coups d'état, low economic growth and social unrest, and this “hinge time,” as he refers to it, can be found in all of his visual art and photography. “I come from the tradition of street photography,” he explains. “My artistic roots are in night walking, taking visual notes of how Buenos Aires of the mid-late 20th century disappeared under new politics and reform. These images are authentic representations of the city itself, without any type of intervention or post-production.”

Perhaps it is the very formativeness of these experiences that draws Valansi to explore the socio-political atmosphere of his early year. “I am interested in the kind of energy that emerges from acts of extreme violence,” he says, “where humanity’s tendency towards self-destruction is manifested.” His work is grounded in the national history of his country, Argentina. He takes a particular interest in the social construction of history where this energy is formed, as opposed to the passive happening of it to humanity.

A striking example of a Valansi that illustrates this emergence of energy is his 2012, Estados de Sitio (States of Seige). “This piece arises from an exploration of the modes of reproduction and distribution of images that have to do with social unrest, where a group actively expresses discontent, amplifying their angry, sadness or concern on the streets,” he explains, adding, “I discovered that there is an enormous similarity between all the images of the world that represent these events, even though they are all taken in different times and places.” Valansi believes that the energy conjured by social unrest, violence and instability in any country or at any time is one and the same, “beyond all ideology or political position.” 

This energy is alluring for the photographer, who prophesies a more dangerous world, one that is imminent and, “far more interesting.” In fact, Valansi claims his entire portfolio stands in a liminal space, “between the beautiful and the terrible,” and he welcomes, from an artistic perspective, the notion that the times we are living in are both harrowing and fascinating. “Art cannot escape this,” he warns, adding that, “for art to survive these times, it must interpret the danger. In a time of crisis, contemporary artists must not see the danger, but an opportunity.”

This dangerous energy that seems to define Valansi’s most notable works has been the driving force of his artistic proliferation. “I believe that an artist develops a few ideas throughout his life, and they have to do with his deepest obsessions,” he says. “Times change, but obsessions remain.” However, the unprecedented damage caused by Covid-19 has made it “impossible for [Valansi] to think of [his] work in the same terms as before the spread of the virus.”

So in the wake of the pandemic, how does Valansi’s work hold up to the new shifts in socio-political consciousness? He explains that he will be reviewing his latest projects from this new perspective. “Some have fallen,” he says, “while others have been prophetic.”