There is a strong cinematic aura to Felipe Romero Beltrán’s work. Being able to quite literally picture a journey marked by legal limbos, alienation and the premature transition from childhood to adulthood, the Colombian artist Beltrán has shown the world an impeccable ability to represent “the others”.
His solo exhibition Dialect graced the rooms of Amsterdam’s Foam back in January, and is leaving the beloved photography museum May 1st. So throw on your cutest outfit, cause we have a Foam date.
For Dialect, Beltran captured the journey of a group of young Moroccan men after their arrival in Spain, navigating through the inaccessible paperwork of legal processes while resisting through the complex feelings and hardships of those who have been displaced. Besides being a testament of the failure of contemporary politics, what makes Felipe Romero Beltrán’s work so powerfully humane is his capacity to connect the subject and method to him as a person. Having experienced what it means to be a migrant and to have entire systems working against you, he is able to let his sincere affection towards his subjects guide his vision and perspective.
Compelling its viewers to confront their own mortality, and challenging us to question our perceptions and beliefs, Felipe Romero Beltrán’s Dialect is truly a necessary must-see on display till May 1st at Foam. See you there 😉
Words by Agata Villa
Images courtesy of Foam
