Hidden places, values of the island represented by human bodies and images that speak of that wind, sea, silence and mystery of Lanzarote. "Hidden Lanzarote" is a photographic exhibition of intimate corners of the island that the gaze of Ruth Sulay has portrayed with the affection and dedication of a year and a half of work. This year and a half during which the photographer has explored the island with her camera in hand, seeking to transmit the mystery and devotion that Lanzarote inspires in her.
This photographic exhibition, which will remain on display until the end of May at the Dublin Pub on Portugal Street in Arrecife, has a hidden symbolism of people and the island imprinted on each of the images, which only Ruth Sulay has been able to see. Titles such as Fly, Eruption, Ocean, Callao, Lava, Freedom or Cave give name to these scenes that Sulay has composed to present the island.
"My idea was to show the most hidden places of Lanzarote, as well as what is hidden within each person, hence the models in the photos are naked and their faces are covered by black masks," explains Ruth. In the images we find models who interpret the eruption of a volcano inside a crater, bodies flying over rocks, pregnant women's bellies contemplating La Graciosa from El Risco or backs on which black stones rest that we only find on the island of volcanoes.
Long road with a camera
Ruth Sulay is a 30-year-old from Lanzarote who began to develop her passion for photography at the age of nine. "Since I was little I always liked photos and my mother used to tell me that I took them very straight," the photographer fondly recalls. When she grew up, she decided to study professional photography remotely while traveling, and the places she discovered were the excuse to practice her skills.
Upon her return, she continued to give free rein to capturing images and made several reports for weddings and baptisms. "Hidden Lanzarote" is her first exhibition and Sulay has been very satisfied with it. As she explains, "many people came to the opening and they have proposed to take it to an exhibition hall in Fuerteventura; so I am very happy".
With the good taste that this first work has left her, Sulay already has new projects in mind, although she prefers to keep the theme to herself and keep it a secret. She believes that this will generate more expectation at the time of exhibiting them; a mechanism that she has already used during this first work of which no one knew anything until the photos were hung in the Dublin Pub.
