David Barreiro

This body of work is a continuation of my research on manual labour taking place in the construction sector. I focus on the elements that embody, even if just metaphorically, ideas related to dominant constructions of gender, social hierarchy and economic system. The working environment is understood as a place for the generation of structures, not just physical, but also ideological.

The project draws also from my interest in theories of representation, paying specific attention to the work of German playwright Bertolt Brecht. He believed that, when the spectator is able to realize the artifice, he is forced into unconventional interpretations of what is being represented, a process with subversive potential. 

In that sense, I try to convey the idea that similarly to fiction, ideology is ultimately a product of direct experience. Human interpretation is what makes different ideas emerge from the same material elements. 

David Barreiro (Pontevedra, Spain, 1982) is a Spanish photographer and artist currently living and working in London. In his practice, he focusses on human constructs like identity categories and institutionalized spaces and activities. He studied photography at EFTI – School of Photography and Cinema (Madrid), and is currently taking his MA at the Royal College of Art. His work has been shown internationally, both online and in galleries like the National Museum of Iceland, Ramskram Contemporary Photography Gallery in Reykjavik, Sala Canal de Isabel II and PHotoESPAÑA, Madrid, and the Contemporary Art Museum of Santiago de Compostela (CGAC).