"The opening image of Graciela Iturbide's retrospective 'Eyes to Fly With' at C/O Berlin is a poetic visualization of the title itself. It features a self-portrait of the artist holding two dead birds delicately over her eyes, their small spherical heads placed just above each eyelid. The bird in her left hand lies upside down, its beak open and its bones visible-a death cry-while the other bird faces the viewer mutely."
"Myth and death play a crucial role within indigenous Mexican cultures, which Iturbide spent large swaths of her life documenting. Within these communities, life and death are inseparable-Day of the Dead ceremonies are considered, in equal measure, celebrations of life, playful flirtations with death that confront it head on."
"After the loss of her six-year-old daughter in 1970, Iturbide became fixated on capturing death. Her photographic practice served as an antidote to the pain and also a way of making sense of it. Like with many photographers, her images of others reflect her own interiority-sometimes conveying a sombreness and, at other times, hope."
Graciela Iturbide's retrospective 'Eyes to Fly With' at C/O Berlin opens with a self-portrait where the artist holds dead birds over her eyes, establishing the exhibition's central theme of life and death coexistence. Iturbide spent decades documenting indigenous Mexican communities where death and life are inseparable, as evidenced in Day of the Dead ceremonies. Birds function as recurring motifs throughout her work, symbolizing both life and mortality—from vultures circling cacti to swallows sweeping across skies. Following her daughter's death in 1970, Iturbide's photographic practice became a means of processing grief and exploring mortality. Her portraits reveal personal interiority through images of others, conveying both sombreness and hope while documenting diverse cultural identities.
Read at Berlin Art Link
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