Contra Mano by Neil Prieto

Contra Mano - driving on the opposite side of the road.

Direct translation - against hand.

The images are from a trip to El Salvador, Cuba, and Argentina in 2014.

My wife, Carolina, and I spent three months in the Americas travelling and visiting family, specifically to introduce each other to our families and culture. During this trip I became fascinated with the way of life, history, celebration, and work as well as witnessing the struggle and danger felt by our families. These images are the result.

This is truly life at its extreme. Love, ecstasy, and loss are emotions lived through moment after moment, day by day. From news of family successes to amazing sites and people we crossed paths. Or the stories of burnt out buses full of people and the neighbour who was robbed at gunpoint that week. Love and loss are always very present.

The beauty of the places we were can be defined by the incredibly volatile and diverse landscape, the bold sincerity, humility, openness and the generosity of the people. The volatility and beauty of the land seems to transcend to the people and is present on building walls and the faces of all.

I did not set out to create this series. I didn’t spend hours waiting for these moments. The images are reflective of what caught my eye by my immediate surroundings, my experience with family and people we met along the way. The inclusion of Steve Rosendale’s painted version of one of my images gives me a perspective of how I felt when I first witnessed each scene, which was a bit surreal, as if it was a painting.

We spent 3 months driving on the opposite side of the road to what we are accustomed and I felt that the world was somehow very much the polar opposite of where we come from.

Opening night

Thursday, 10 November, 6 – 8pm