Sandra Torralba

Artist's statement:

I had for a while a long statement that attempted to explain who I am and why do I do what I do. It made sense to write it. I had just turned my life upside down: I abandoned my job and profesional career to become a photographer as I moved back to my hometown after 4 years abroad. I needed to understand and make sense of my life to whistand the vertigo and the trepidation I was experiencing.

Now the vertigo is gone. Its always the same with changes and crisis.

It is not the first time I have left almost everything or totally changed career paths. When asked I often come up with reasonable and satisfying explanations about the reasons why, but I believe its more faithful to reality to accept that there is only a part to be explained and that the rest is a mixture between opportunity, luck and motivation.

On opportunity, luck and motivation: I had an alright childhood but my lack of tools to digest some events and emotions led to a difficult adolescence. Then after I retrieved myself I devoted many years to learn and indeed to help others in healing and understanding. I started medicine and left in the third year, then graduated in social work, then graduated in psychology, and during these years at the same time i studied a 3years masters in Intregrative Counselling and a diploma in Sexual therapy, plus a one year diploma in Humanistic  Counselling.  For around 4 years I worked mostly within acute mental health units, forensic rehabilitation settings and individuals with severe psychosocial needs. Throughout the years I began to feel some heaviness, that of all the stored horrors my clients had gone through and would go through. That of my own. Client's memories become somehow your own and there were days were it was difficult to let go. Creating, in whatever form, helped me mantain the balance. When I finished my MSc thesis and as we decided to come back to Spain, I saw I could take a different path. I did not truly decide to stop being a therapist, I decided to allow myself be a photographer.

And it took everything over.

These days I feel most contained and happy.

If you have any queries, questions, projects you want to share with me, please do email me. I am also open to participate in any kind of project, work, proposal that is interesting. You can contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it either in English, Spanish, French or Italian.

Artistic studies

Intensive course Illumination Tecniques: Cinematographic techniques applied to photography- Sep- Dec 2009

MA (Master) in Photography at EFTI (School of Photography and Image technology) -  Valedictory of 2008

Adobe Premiere (40h)- June 2009

Advanced Photoshop (40h)-April 2009

Intensive Photoshop (18h)- January 2008

Workshops and lectures with: Jill Greenberg, Matt Siber, Nancy Davenport, Mauricio Alejo, Eugenio Ampudio, Chris Steele Perkins, Manuel de los Galanes, Jesús Micó, Luis Malibrán, José Ramón Bas, Miguel Oriola, José Luis Santalla, Alfonso Zubiaga, Francis Tsang, Cuico Gutierrez, Valentín Sama, Daniel Canogar.

Awards

June 2010- Descubrimientos de PHE2010 (Madrid)- PhotoEspaña 2010

2008- Valedictory of the Masters in Photography at EFTI

Solo Exhibitions

2010- Estranged Sex in "My Name is Lolita's Art" (Madrid, Spain)

Collective Exhibitions

July 2010- Estranged Sex- The Museum of Sex NY (NY,US)

June 2010- SevillaFoto (Sevilla, Spain)

May 2010- MADRIDFOTO- with "My Name's Lolita Art"- Palacio de los Deportes (Madrid, Spain)

April 2010- Sexo en el Fotomata (Sevilla)

Febrero 2010- INCOMODOS- Cero Art Gallery (Madrid)- Commissioned by Ciuco Gutierrez.

May 2009- MADRIDFOTO- (IFEMA, Madrid)- with "My Name's Lolita Art"

April 2009- Festival de Arte "ARTENDENCIAS"- "Espacio El Cubo" (Pozuelo, Madrid)- Commissioned by EFTI

March- December 2009- "100x100" Galería Espai [b]- (Barcelona)

March 2009- " Sin Bragas"- Sala Tarambana- (Carabanchel, Madrid)

February 2009- "Novísimas"- My Name is Lolita's Art Gallery (Madrid)- Commissioned by Ciuco Gutierrez

February 2009 - Centro Cultural Pablo Ruiz Picasso (Colmenar Viejo- Madrid) - Catalogue published

September 2008 -  - Centro Municipal de las Artes (Alcorcón, Madrid) - Catalogue published

August 2008 -  "De tal palo tal astilla" - Sala Tarazona Foto (Tarazona, Zaragoza) - Catalogue published

July 2008 - PHE 08- EFTI for PhotoEspaña 2008.

July-September 2008 -  “1 Premio de Fotografia Ciudad de las Palmas de Gran Canaria”- Catalogue published

Work in collections

Museum of Sex NY

EFTI

Publications:

NY Art Magazine- October 2010

Vision Magazine- China

El mundo- June 2010

Young Photographers United Catalogue 2010

Sensuality Magazine- Art Section: September Issue 2009

Collective catalogue, Alcorcón

Collective catalogue- Tarazona

Collective Catalogue- Ciudad de las Palmas

Online publications:

Area Zinc

Fanzine 10x15

Zoom

Other relevant information:

2005- 2007- Msc in Therapeutic Counselling at Greenwich University, london, UK

2006- 2007- PgDip in Psychology at UEL East London University, London, UK

2005- Dip in Humanistic Counselling at Hackney university College, London, UK

2001- 2004- Graduate in Social Work at UNED (Open University), Madrid, Spain

2003- 2004- Dip in Sexual therapy and couples counselling at Sexpol, Madrid, Spain

100h diploma in gender studies

100h diploma in psychosocial intervention in catastrophies and emergencies

P.S. My sincerest gratitude to Andrea F. Paci for his support in creating and mantaining this website.

If you would like to make a donation, I would be forever grateful. I am especially trying to find fundings to afford my first solo exhibition coming in October 2010. You may use the following details.

Bic number: OPEN ES MM