IN THE HEAT
Arturo Soto
The Eriskay Connection
English
Text by Kevin Coleman
Hardcover Flexibound
64 Pages
230 × 302mm
2018
ISBN 9789492051288
Panama’s presence in the collective unconscious is frequently limited to its famous canal, exotic sceneries and recent political history. In the book In the Heat, however, the vibrant country displayed in travel brochures is purposefully absent. Arturo Soto leaves out this typical imagery in which colour is used to promote prepackaged experiences. In the Heat is a subjective depiction of Panama’s urban landscape. The banal spaces in the work of the Mexican photographer contradict conservative notions of progress and economic growth. Even though the project is not meant as a social critique, it does attempt to capture the varying social values and disparities located in the urban environment. The title references Panama’s humid climate.
About the artist
Arturo Soto (1981, Mexico) is a photographer and writer. He holds an MFA in Photography from the School of Visual Arts, an MA in Art History from University College London and undergraduate degrees in Film and Photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Soto has received scholarships from Jumex, CONACyT and FONCA. He currently resides in the UK, where he is a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford. Soto is interested in highlighting the importance of the everyday through the language and conventions of documentary photography. His focus is on the sociopolitical markers contained in urban spaces, while also considering them as a sum of imaginaries that transcend physical space.
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About the publisher
The Eriskay Connection is a Dutch book design studio and an independent publisher of art books. We focus on contemporary storytelling at the intersection of photography, research and writing. In close collaboration with authors, we create autonomous books that provide us with new and necessary insights into the world around us. It is important for us to convey what makes a story unique through high-quality editing, design and production. Our publications are mainly offset printed and bound in the Netherlands and we strive to work as much as possible with local producers and sustainable materials.
The Eriskay Connection