In the pedestrian entrance of the Etú Square, in zone 14 capital, A gallery appears with two spaces. The first is dedicated to photographs and the assembly of faces, shapes and images, composed of thousands of doors, and the other is a sanctuary of looks.
Almost any image could be recreated with the doors that Alan Benchoam has found on his exploration trips by Guatemala and the world. The most beautiful doors are those of Huehuetenango – he says without hesitation – and that they seem easy to recognize for their unique color, their carved with different figures and their ability to transform any place.
A single picture of the artist could have hours of contemplation for the viewer: each door has details, such as dogs in front of them, written messages, the silence of the story they represent or those modern. Each is important.
In 1994 he finished his degree in Psychology and decided to move to Colorado, United States, to study photography at the Denver Art Institute. In 1998 he returned to Guatemala and opened his first photography study. In 2018 he made his exhibition “This is not a door”, made up of 21 “collages” of photo doors photos.
Getting to create your projects, today famous, has not been simple. The artist has gone through personal, economic crises and direction changes that have given him a special sensitivity to the world around him.
Its doors have opened an intense world of projects, but which have been closed?
I faced the change in photography when the digital age arrived. I had an outbreak of multiple arteriosclerosis, I started losing my eyes, I was bankrupt and I felt very alone. When they tell a “health, money and love”, I had none of the three things.
In 2014, I began to create doors in relief, and that helped me get up. A trip to Mexico opened my mind and made me recognize that I wanted my own gallery. Then I started to do Collages, which began to be sought by people, until the pandemic arrived and broke again.
Where has you photographed its doors and how many images have you captured so far?
I have taken photos in Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Panama, France, Madrid and Jerusalem, and I hope to travel this year to new places. I don’t know exactly how many doors I have photographed. Everyone wants to know that data, but I know that no door is repeated when I make a collage that is printed on watercolor paper. It takes me hours to build the projects on the computer. I have a photographic memory of what doors I have and which ones do not. I know exactly what I need, for what and where. Therefore, door to door work and the integration of each picture takes me so long.
He has also made books where he shares more than his art.
The first one I did was dedicated to my photography classes. I also published Go aheaddoors of Guatemala and Guatemalan essence. In the midst of this last book, I went through a difficult process because my brother committed suicide.
In this work I photographed people who found anywhere, and each one had to tell me something about itself. The idea was inspired by a similar project that I saw in New York. However, a couple of stories changed my way of seeing things and helped me at a time when I assured that there was nothing positive. Through these pages I want to make, cry, question and thank.
Door at the door It is the name of my last book, which is full of moments and emotions.
From this experience, what would you tell families that go through such a difficult situation?
There will always be hard times in life and problems. My dad told me: “Life is about spending the best that can be between problem and problem.”
When my brother died, it cost me a lot, because I questioned so many things about God and I thought: “Nothing good, nothing can come out.” However, after four months, hearing a couple of stories and talking with psychologists, I grabbed the phone and started calling all the people I wanted, just to talk, gather and share.
Following that loss, I began to reconnect. I consider myself a loving person, but from then on, I became even more loving, and that was something positive. Although it hurts a lot, it must be understood that, although at first it does not seem like it, everything goes through something and, from all tragedy, something good can always arise.
At the beginning of the interview he mentioned the change in photography analogous to digital. What reflection left him?
In the door to door something of my life appears, and there is reflected the first photo I took. It was an old wall, but I liked its design, and it all started.
I believe in reincarnation, and all my work revolves around it, because a door that for someone can be undone and dead, in my work acquires a new meaning, a new life and becomes part of something that I would never have imagined.
@alanbenchoam #AlanBenchoam #Ventanasalma ♬ Funk it up – John Ethkin -Bell
He has two iris in his saying. Who does it belong to?
It is mine and my wife’s, Alejandra.
The project of taking the iris of people and turning it into paintings, charms and other details touches the heart, and is a very emotional gift. He has had a precious acceptance and has it to date.
One of the most symbolic I have delivered went to my mother, who suffered from dementia and lived in Israel. I had years of not seeing her, and I took her with half my brother’s eye and mine. She recognized him and, at the time close to his death asked to be buried with the saying.
What is your pending project for this year?
I have created a guitar that would like it to be a design for Ricardo Arjona. Integrates a collage that I know will have a great meaning for him. They have been different tests for the guitar to maintain its faithful sound. If I can’t get him to have one of my guitars, I will change my last name.