Inauguration: May 18 at 12:00 p.m.
Duration: From May 18 to July 20, 2025
They say that a photographer’s enthusiasm for a subject has no essential connection to its content or values. And that the photographer’s gaze, eager and tenacious, not only resists traditional classification and evaluation of subjects, but also consciously seeks to give importance to the things that interest them — while at the same time challenging and subverting them. I must tell you that my aim when undertaking any project is not to challenge anyone, but rather to show that things can be seen through a new lens.
I am deeply bored by following the rules and guidelines imposed by prevailing aesthetic and conceptual trends in photography. Not specialising is one of my most defining traits, and it is what people tend to associate with my work, as I am passionate about discovering and savouring new worlds. I would even dare to say that the photographic collections “Roses”, “Genesis” and “Africa”, hosted by the Mirador Room at the Museu Molí Paperer de Capellades, are a clear example of this. Although all three share the same handmade, pH-neutral paper made from natural cotton and linen fibres produced by the museum itself, each speaks of very different, contrasting, and even opposing worlds.
The motivation, the reason, and the origin of the photographic exhibition “ROSES - GENESIS - AFRICA” lie not only in the medium used —the handmade paper of natural cotton and linen fibres on which the photographs were created— though that too, but also in my donation of the entire series to the Museu Molí Paperer de Capellades so that they may become part of its art collection.
Between the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, I opened the doors of my photographic lab to hundreds of handmade sheets of paper of various sizes and thicknesses, in order to explore the more chemical side of photography, with the aim of bringing to life some photographic projects I had long envisioned. The chemistry contributed relevant elements, just as I had hoped, but it was the paper that proved decisive in achieving my goals.
A journey is movement. And the “Roses”, “Genesis” and “Africa” collections have travelled across the country, but the time has come to close that chapter, and I have decided that the best place for them to remain is “at home”: at the Museu Molí Paperer de Capellades. Of course, the paper sheets do not return as they left. Each one has now been transformed into a unique and unrepeatable photographic original. Each of them captures a creative and conceptual moment and tells a story. Perhaps, with time, they will become even more valuable, and a second glance may reveal new nuances.
Josep Bou
Photographer
Josep Bou i Farreras. Igualada, 1950.
Part of his photographic training took place in Belgium. He has worked in nearly every area within the field of photography, and his experience across these different disciplines has enriched and helped shape his own photographic identity.
He was a founding member of the AFP (Association of Professional Fashion and Advertising Photographers of Spain). He has worked as director of photography for commercials and music videos. He has collaborated with the most prestigious photography schools in Barcelona and Madrid, and his work as a teacher in workshops, masterclasses, lectures, and discussions is widely recognised. Among the many national and international awards he has received, the Gold Medal from the New York Festival stands out. He is the founder and director of Passanant Foto, a photographic gathering that has become a benchmark event in the photography world. He promoted, directed, and coordinated the PassFOTO 13x18 photographic book series on the Conca de Barberà region. He has published twenty-one author books and two artist books. With over one hundred solo and group exhibitions to his name, his photographic interventions are well known, as are the projects he has developed exclusively in digital format.
Documentation
