Amiina 2013

Nieves Mingueza, born in 1971, made 'Amiina' with some form of photography—maybe in a darkroom? It’s so grainy, like you're trying to pull something out of the dark, you know? I’m thinking about what the artist was searching for, standing there in the darkroom. It's like they're saying: “let's see what happens, I’m just going to play with these chemicals and light.” It’s not about seeing clearly but feeling something, and this feeling becomes an image. The tonal range moves from white to dark gray, and each step is a feeling. You know, I can smell the chemicals used to develop the picture just by looking at it. Photography, like painting, lets the artist speak through feeling. It’s not about showing something, but about being in conversation with an idea.