Enrique Metinides

Enrique Metinindes has spent his life photographing moments of tragedy for the Mexican nota roja (‘bloody news’) press. Gaining access to crime scenes through police contacts and service with the Red Cross, Metinindes catalogued an array of accidents, murders, suicides and suffering. Exuding the macabre beauty of film stills, his photographs capture the tension of a tragic moment unfolding. Beyond the distressing immediacy of the central subject matter, the disconnected eyes of spectators frequently reflect our own voyeuristic gaze. Like the ice cream vendor captured selling to those gathered around an overturned car, Metinides’ work is ever conscious of the conflict between fascination and disconnection that lies at the heart of our fragile reality.