Santuario

To approach photography from the point of view of eroticism without falling into redundancy is a challenge that Patricio Maldonado meets with each photograph in SantuarioBetween naked torsos, open mouths and pubic hair, the portraits in this book offer us something else: they challenge us to hold our gaze, to name what we see and let it pass through us. 

Among blood, semen, and sweat, we make peace with disgust and shame to discover that desire and eroticism lie at the bottom of what makes us stare. Through silkscreen, the images spread out on the paper, tempting us to look closely at the details of light and shadow that make up the body of the other, the looks of desire, of comfort, of everything but pain. The spectrum of masculinity is revealed through a cartography that goes from the intimacy of a close-up to the exploration of open shots that suggest a reappropriation of space by the body. 

To categorize Patricio's work as queer art would seem almost impulsive, however, when we carefully browse through the selection, we can find ourselves reflected within the universality that comes with desire. 

Editorial design and layout: Casa Roga, Soraya Guidi
Photographs: Patricio Maldonado
Texts: David Loria y Patricio Maldonado
Production: Casa Roga
Offset and silkscreen printing
Stapled binding
150 signed and numbered copies.

Limited edition