Laia Abril

Laia Abril (born 1986) is a photographer and multiplatform storyteller whose work relates to femininity.

Abril's books include The Epilogue (2014), which documents the indirect victims of eating disorders, and A History of Misogyny: Chapter One: On Abortion (2018), about the repercussions of abortion controls in many different cultures.

On Abortion won Photobook of the Year award at the Paris Photo–Aperture Foundation PhotoBook Awards. In 2018 she was awarded the Tim Hetherington Trust's Visionary Award to work on A History Of Misogyny, Chapter 2: On Rape Culture. For the long-term project A History Of Misogyny, in 2019 she was awarded the Royal Photographic Society's Hood Medal and in 2020 she was awarded the Paul Huf Award from Foam Fotografiemuseum Amsterdam.

Life and work

Abril was born in 1986 in Barcelona, Spain. She gained a degree in journalism in Barcelona. She moved to New York City to study photography at the International Center of Photography. In 2009 she enrolled at Fabrica research centre, the artist residency of Benetton in Italy, where she worked as a staff photographer and consultant photo editor at Colors magazine for a number of years.

Since 2010, Abril has been working on various projects exploring the subject of eating disorders:[1] A Bad Day, a short film about a young girl struggling with bulimia; Thinspiration (2012), which explores the use of photography in pro-ana websites; and The Epilogue (2014), documenting the indirect victims of eating disorders, through the story of the Robinson family and the aftermath of the death of Cammy Robinson to bulimia.[2][3][4] Critic Sean O'Hagan, wrote in The Guardian, that The Epilogue "... is a sombre and affecting photobook ... dense and rewarding ... At times, it makes for a painful read. From time to time, I had to put it down, take a breather. But I kept going back."[5]

Her extended study of misogyny thus far includes A History of Misogyny: Chapter One: On Abortion, about the repercussions of abortion controls in many different cultures.[6] Work is ongoing to produce A History Of Misogyny, Chapter 2: On Rape Culture.[6]

Her other projects include Femme Love, on a young lesbian community in Brooklyn; Last Cabaret on a sex club in Barcelona; and the Asexuals Project, a documentary film about asexuality.

Publications

Publications by Abril
  • Laia Abril. PHotoBolsillo. Madrid: La Fabrica,[n 1] 2016. ISBN 978-8416248605. Spanish.
  • Thinspiration. Self-published zine, 2012. Designed in collaboration with art director Ramon Pez and Guillermo Brotons.
  • Tediousphilia. Lausanne: Musée de l'Élysée, 2014. ISBN 978-2883501058. Designed in collaboration with art director Pez.
  • The Epilogue. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2014. ISBN 978-1907893544. Designed in collaboration with art director Pez.
  • Lobismuller. Mexico City; Barcelona: Editorial RM, 2016. ISBN 978-8416282647. With a text by Abril and designed in collaboration with art director Pez.
  • A History of Misogyny: Chapter One: On Abortion. Stockport: Dewi Lewis, 2018. ISBN 978-1-911306-24-5.

Publications with others
  • The Afronauts by Cristina de Middel. Self-published 2012. Creative Direction and editing in collaboration with Pez.
  • From Here On. Madrid: RM, 2013. Exhibition catalogue for From Here On, Centre d'Art Santa Mònica, Barcelona, curated by Joan Fontcuberta, Erik Kessels, Martin Parr, Joachim Schmid and Clément Chéroux.[n 2]
  • Diccionario de Fotógrafos Españoles. Madrid: La Fabrica, 2014.
  • Under 35 Madrid: Ivorypress, 2015.
  • The Post-photographic condition by Joan Fontcuberta. Montreal: Mois de la Photo, 2015.
  • Featured in Aperture magazine #225, Winter 2016, "On Feminism."
  • Fenómeno Fotolibro Mexico City; Barcelona: Editorial RM, 2017.

Exhibitions

Solo exhibitions
  • Laia Abril: Suyay, Centre de la Photographie de Genève, November 2018.[7]

Group exhibitions or exhibitions during festivals

Awards

Collections

Abril's work is held in the following public collection:

Notes
  1. Not to be confused with Fabrica research centre in Italy, where Abril was enrolled.
  2. The catalogue for From Here On is reproduced here (Issuu).

References
  1. Segal Hamilton, Rachel (13 September 2014). "Laia Abril's Thinspiration Photos Are Unbearable". Vice. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  2. Holland, Claire (13 October 2014). "The best photography books out now". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  3. Cresswell, Joanna (1 October 2014). "The Epilogue: Laia Abril". The Photographers' Gallery. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  4. Colberg, Jörg (8 September 2014). "Laia Abril – The Epilogue". Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  5. O'Hagan, Sean (26 August 2014). "'I don't know how to get better': Laia Abril shows the hell of eating disorders". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  6. "Visionary Award 2018: Laia Abril 17th May 2018, London". Tim Hetherington Trust. Retrieved 2018-05-26.
  7. "LAIA ABRIL – SUYAY – Centre Photographie Genève". Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  8. "Clase Magistral con Joan Fontcuberta". Gallery Sous Les Etoiles. Archived from the original on 3 July 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  9. "On Identity". Gallery Sous Les Etoiles. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
  10. O'Hagan, Sean (12 July 2016). "Les Rencontres d'Arles 2016 review – twin towers and sub-Saharan slums". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  11. "Situations". fotomuseum.ch. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  12. "Las 17, CaixaForum". caixaforum.es. 2017-09-20. Retrieved 2018-06-28.
  13. "Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize 2019". The Photographers' Gallery. 2018-11-01. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
  14. "First Photobook Shortlist: The Epilogue". Paris Photo. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  15. "LAIA ABRIL, PREMIO REVELACIÓN PHOTOESPAÑA 2016". lafabrica.com.
  16. O'Hagan, Sean (5 November 2018). "Guns and poses: Deutsche Börse photography prize shortlist revealed". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  17. "Shortlist announced for the 2019 Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize". British Journal of Photography. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  18. "Winners announced for the 2018 Paris Photo/Aperture Foundation Photobook Awards – British Journal of Photography". www.bjp-online.com. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  19. "The RPS Annual Awards 2019". rps.org. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  20. "Laia Abril wins Foam Paul Huf Award 2020". British Journal of Photography. 11 March 2020. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  21. Ekker, Jan Pieter (11 March 2020). "Spaanse fotograaf Laia Abril wint Foam Paul Huf Award". Het Parool. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  22. "Spaanse fotografe Laia Abril wint Foam Paul Huf Award". NRC Handelsblad. Retrieved 2020-03-11.
  23. "Collection". Fotomuseum Winterthur. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 November 2014.
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