Isabel Muñoz (born 1951) is a Spanish photographer who lives in Madrid.

Life and work

Muñoz was born in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

and grew up in the

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

region with a

Valencian Valencian can refer to: * Something related to the Valencian Community ( Valencian Country) in Spain * Something related to the city of Valencia * Something related to the province of Valencia in Spain * Something related to the old Kingdom of ...

family and some ancestors of remote origin. When she was 20 years old, she moved to Madrid and started studying photography in 1979 at Photocentro. Her black and white photos are a study of people through pieces of the human body or pictures of toreros, dancers or

Warrior A warrior is a guardian specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal society, tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracy, social class, class, or caste. History ...

s. She uses a handmade and meticulous process called

platinotype Platinum prints, also called ''platinotypes'', are photographic prints made by a monochrome photographic printing, printing process involving platinum. Platinum tones range from warm black, to reddish brown, to expanded mid-tone grays that are ...

, a technique that early 19th century photographers used, which has great quality and a unique texture. Muñoz primarily uses black and white in her works, except when exploring anthropological or social issues. In such occasions, like working with drag queens and primitive tribes, she will use color. She travels the world carrying out works of architecture and addressing the issues of

child trafficking Trafficking of children, also known as child trafficking, is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of a child" for the purpose of slavery, forced labour, and ...

and

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

in Southeast Asia. In

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

(2005) she focused on the

Tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s who decorate their bodies as a way of expression: the '' Surma'', '' Nyangaton'', ''

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

'', '' Banna'', '' Bodi'', '' Mursi'', '' Karo'' and '' Nuer''. In 2006, she visited

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

to take photos of urban tribes and produce works about violence. She worked on a project, '' Nuesto Pequeno Mundo'', to photograph children on the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child. She traveled to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and exhibited the work ''El amor y el éxtasis'' as part of

PHotoEspaña PHotoEspaña, the International Festival of Photography and Visual Arts of Madrid, is a Spanish photography festival based in Madrid, founded in 1998. It is supported by private companies and public institutions, and its program presents work by ...

2010. In Mexico, she exhibited ''

La Bestia ("The Beast"), also known as ("The Train of Death") and ("The Train of the Unknowns"), is a freight train that starts its route in Chiapas state in southern Mexico, near the border of Guatemala. From there it travels north to the Lechería ra ...

'', which goes across Mexico packed with immigrants, with great risk for their lives. In 2015, she decides to look for the links of where we come from, by investigating the

great apes The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); '' Gorilla'' (the ...

Publications

*''Parade Nuptiale.'' 1992 Fata Morgana. With an essay by

Gérard Macé Gérard Macé (born Paris, 4 December 1946) is a French people, French poet, essayist, translator and photographer. He published his first book ''Le jardin des langues'' in 1974 and since then has published nearly 50 books. His work is noted for i ...

. *''María Ilusión.'' Plume, 1995. *''Rome Efemer.'' Gallimard, 1997. *''Figures Sans Visages.'' Fata Morgana, 1997. With an essay by Macé. *''Rome, l'invention du Barroque.'' Marva, 1997. With an essay by Macé. *''Isabel Muñoz.'' La Fábrica, 2000. With an essay by Christian Caujolle *''Obras Maestras.'' La Fábrica, 2010. With an essay by Caujolle

Prizes

*Medalla de Oro en la Bienal de Alejandría, 1999 *2nd Prize in "The Arts Stories" World Press Photo 43rd Edition for "Chinese Martial Arts Training" *3rd Prize "Portraits Stories" World Press Photo 48th Edition for "The Surma people of Ethiopia" *World Press Photo International award, 1999 *World Press Photo International award, 2004 *Community Photography Prize Madrid, 2006 *

Prize, 2009 * Medal of Merit of the Fine Arts, 2009 * National Photography Prize, 2016

Solo exhibitions

*''Isabel Muñoz'', Mougins Center of Photography, Mougins, France, 2021

References

External links

*
Biografía en gallego

Elipsis Gallery, Istanbul
1951 births Living people 20th-century Spanish photographers 20th-century women photographers 21st-century Spanish photographers 21st-century Spanish women photographers {{Europe-photographer-stub