The photographer, artist, and essayist Joan Fontcuberta i Villà, 71, has received the Creu de Sant Jordi for "developing a work of great international influence that explores the limits between reality and fiction and questions the veracity of images in contemporary culture." Fontcuberta, a recipient of the National Culture Award, the National Photography Award, the Hasselblad Award, and an honorary doctorate from Paris VIII University, recently welcomed reporters to his studio in Granollers, Vallès Oriental. There, surrounded by some of his 20,000 photography books, he discussed his life and his concept of photography.
Fontcuberta explained the importance of his family background and the loss of fingers on one hand in shaping his thoughtful approach to photography. He recounted how, as a child, he was fascinated by graphic novels, particularly those about World War II and the Korean War. This led him to collect old propaganda magazines from Barcelona's Sant Antoni market, cutting out photos to create his own historical narratives. "This book I made at eleven years old: 'On the morning of 10 January 1940, General Franz Hauser…'" he said, describing it as his first contact with the image as a document.
His interest deepened when his art history teacher, Francesc Garriga, a poet and photography enthusiast, set up a darkroom at school. "For me, this was a full experience, an epiphany," Fontcuberta said. "I was absolutely clear: 'I want to dedicate myself to this!'" He was around 12 or 13 at the time. He received an Instamatic camera as a gift, and later, at his father's advertising agency, he worked as a copyright writer and producer, observing photographers and learning from them. He then studied journalism at university, gaining the theoretical foundation for his practical work.
Childhood Accident Shapes Artistic Path
Fontcuberta's path to photography was also influenced by a childhood accident. He revealed that he had wanted to be a photojournalist, and during the final years of the dictatorship, he was part of a collective called Gráfica Popular, which provided graphic material for posters for clandestine unions and the PSUC political party. However, an accident involving a homemade bomb he was making as a child left him with injuries to his left hand.
"I used to make bombs," he admitted. He and a friend in chemistry class perfected a black powder formula. He recounted how he filled an effervescent Redoxon tablet tube with the mixture and used match heads as a detonator. "I pressed the match head too hard and it exploded in my hand: my arm shot out," he explained. The initial medical assessment at Teknon was that his hand would need to be amputated. Fortunately, a more experienced trauma surgeon decided on reconstruction instead.
"I would have liked to be a photojournalist, but I don't have the agility or speed to operate a camera the way a journalist needs to," Fontcuberta said, explaining how the injury affected his career choice. This led him to work slowly, a practice he describes as more meditative. He referenced photographer Jeff Wall, who states that in photography, one must work either very fast or very slowly, but not in between. "This is perhaps where all this more conceptual, more analytical character of my work comes from," he added.
Questioning Photographic Truth
Fontcuberta is known for his statement: "Every photo is a fiction presented as true. The photo always lies by instinct, because its nature leads it to do nothing else." He explained that images are often confused with reality, which has led to disputes with documentary photographers. "Photography always lies. But it lies because it cannot do otherwise. Language is not reality," he stated.
In 2017, Fontcuberta created the 'Ximo Berenguer' deception, convincing many in the art world that he had discovered images by a Valencian documentarian he had invented. Photo España and private collectors were among those who fell for the hoax. "I am not interested in deceiving, but in revealing the mechanisms of deception," Fontcuberta clarified. He described his strategy as 'artistic fake,' offering bait for people to bite, but then letting them go once the trap is shown. "A fake that is not discovered is a failed fake, a fake that does not work," he said. "Because, at heart, it is a pedagogical methodology: I warn you that I have deceived you and you learn from it."
He continued, "I deceive you a little, this creates antibodies in your spirit to react to it. And these antibodies will then serve you in real life when the real deceivers are the big imposters." Fontcuberta has created other notable works involving fabricated narratives, such as 'Sputnik,' where he invented an astronaut, 'Fauna,' featuring impossible animals, and 'Osama,' about a terrorist. When asked which work he is most proud of, he said, "I would say the last thing I do is what satisfies me most."
The Internet and Deception
Regarding the Ximo Berenguer project, Fontcuberta explained that it originated from a workshop in Valencia with IVAM. The question posed was: in the internet age, with Google and Wikipedia, is it easier or harder to create a fake and mislead people? "Generally, the answer was that it couldn't be done now," he said. "It can't be done because we have much more immediate, much easier access to information. Well, precisely because we have this feeling, and we trust it, it is easier."
For a year and a half, Fontcuberta and his team introduced news about a supposed Ximo Berenguer onto the internet, to the point where Wikipedia published his biography. This project demonstrated how readily information, even fabricated, can be integrated into seemingly authoritative online sources. Fontcuberta's work consistently challenges viewers to critically assess the images they encounter, highlighting the pervasive nature of manipulation in visual culture.
