why eStudio Asia

eStudio Asia l JOSE REINOSO  • 2021.12.24

At the end of 2000, when I traveled to Asia for the first time, I perceived with my own eyes what I had glimpsed for years through the testimonies of Western writers who for centuries have traveled this area of ​​the world attracted by its remoteness, its culture and its exoticism.

The fascination exerted by Asia in the West and the interest it has aroused among its travelers, merchants and intellectuals have not stopped growing since the Venetian Marco Polo stirred the European collective imagination with his journey through Asia at the end of the 13th century, collected in the classic of travel literature Il milione , known in Spanish as Los viajes de Marco Polo .

After the Italian explorer and merchant, discoverers such as the Portuguese Vasco da Gama, missionaries such as the Italian Matteo Ricci, or imperial envoys such as the British George Macartney, with his pioneering diplomatic mission to the court of the Chinese emperor Qianlong in 1793, headed for the East, in search of trade, parishioners and raw materials with which to feed the hungry empires that paid for their expeditions. Many territories in Asia fell into the hands of foreign powers, whose colonizers left wounds in this area of ​​the world that are still not fully healed today.

On the cultural level, the western occupiers left deep marks on Asia. In return, they were seduced by distant and unknown cultures, and nurtured a European passion for this part of the world, which in the 17th and 18th centuries was reflected in chinoiseries (interpretation and imitation of Chinese artistic traditions) or Japonism , the cult of Japanese aesthetics developed in Europe from the mid-19th century, which profoundly influenced impressionist painters, who were captivated by the clarity of the lines, the abstraction of colors and the asymmetrical composition of Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e ) .

The German philosophers Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Martin Heidegger and Friedrich Nietzsche, or the Swiss psychoanalyst Carl Jung are part of the long list of Western thinkers and authors who drank from Eastern sources. More recently, the search for answers and inspiration in Zen Buddhism or Taoism have also marked artists and intellectuals, whose works often bear the imprint of their Asian studies and experiences. Throughout the 20th century, composers such as the American John Cage, filmmakers such as the Italian Michelangelo Antonioni, or semioticians and writers such as the French Roland Barthes, author of The Empire of Signs, published after his visit to Japan in 1966, traveled to Asia. .

Today, Asia continues to spark the Western imagination. The names of cities such as Hanoi, Bangkok, Vientiane or Shanghai generate dreams and resonances that are difficult to find in other areas of the world that are better known to the citizen of the West. Asia attracts globetrotters, artists, entrepreneurs and intellectuals, who, if in the first half of the 20th century would have traveled to Paris or New York in search of knowledge, opportunities and dynamism, in recent decades have increasingly done so in this area of the planet.

I joined this interest in Asia, finally physically, with that first trip to China at the end of the 20th century. The following year, already in the 21st century, I traveled to China again; and in 2002 I settled in Beijing to work as a foreign correspondent. I lived in the Chinese capital until the end of 2018, which allowed me to travel extensively in Asia during all these years; sometimes with the haste of work, others with the delight of moving without direction or destination. Until the Covid-19 pandemic broke out in March 2020.

China, India, Japan and Thailand, to name just a few countries, have more and more fans in the West, in whose schools of Eastern languages ​​they study their languages, their history and their culture. But Asian philosophers, writers or musicians still occupy meager places in the European heritage. If the masterpieces of artistic disciplines such as painting, music or literature from this area where 60% of the world population lives are still little known among citizens in the West, what to say about those of a relatively young art such as the photograph. The Japanese photographer Daido Moriyama, to name just one of the greats of this art, has published hundreds of books; but how many people, even art lovers, know of his work in the West? The same can be said of pioneering Chinese photographers like Lang Jingshan, or Thai contemporaries like Manit Sriwanichpoom.

eStudio Asia was born in response to my passion for this area of ​​the planet, photography and creation. Our main objective is to publish, print and disseminate the work of the members and collaborators of the study; mainly photobooks and museum-quality photographic copies of works related to Asia, either by origin of the author or by the content of the work. With a priority: the fusion of the visual character of photography and the evocative power of poetry.

The look of Asian artists on the world, on their environment, on themselves and their culture, as well as that of non-Asian photographers on this area of ​​the planet are the heart of the project. Through them, we seek to contribute to the knowledge of other ways of seeing and interpreting the reality that surrounds us, and of dreaming and inquiring about the human soul.

In this way, we want to promote knowledge of Asian photography and art, with one desire: to captivate those who feel attracted to Asia and photography, with art as a vehicle for transmission.

But Asia is vast and complex, Asia is many worlds, stretching from the Sea of ​​Marmara in Turkey to the Malay Archipelago at its eastern end. For this reason, and to limit the field of action, the study's activity will revolve mainly around East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia, with occasional nods to Australia and New Zealand, due to their connection with Asia and the dynamism of their photographic communities.

Photography has never been more alive than today. The image formed by capturing light enjoys a new golden age, thanks to technological advances and the tools that they have made available to us, such as sensors capable of recording minimum light values, mobile phones with quality unimaginable a few years ago, and a powerful means of diffusion called the Internet. Added to this is the resurgence of the film of silver salts. All of this has opened new possibilities to the imagination of artists, who, thanks to digital printing, now have the opportunity to publish photobooks in reduced print runs, with a quality comparable to that of traditional offset printing.

This photographic effervescence has also been reflected in Asia, where numerous photographic festivals have sprung up in recent decades and artists have produced work of great richness and complexity, which is exhibited more and more frequently in the West.

eStudio Asia is a small independent studio-publisher, and, like all those involved in the world of culture, we have been greatly affected by the pandemic. The launch of our first photobook ⏤ Nomadic Sight , by the Chinese photographer Ren Bo ⏤ took place last year a few days before the serious health and human crisis broke out, which continues today, with the consequent closures of borders and cancellations of exhibitions. and arts festivals.

But, like many too, this time has served us to reflect, mature new projects, and prepare the sailboat for when the storm subsides and good winds arrive. One of these projects has been the creation of the eStudio Asia website. It was born focused on the Nomadic Sight photographic project, but it will expand its content little by little.

At www.estudioasia.com, you will also find texts, videos, audios and other content not strictly linked to photography. On some occasions, they will be an extension of the photographer's gaze through other languages ​​of artistic expression. In others, they have their place because of their beauty or because we believe that they may be of interest to anyone who is passionate about this artistic discipline and Asia.

We also include an agenda of the main photography festivals and fairs scheduled for the coming months in Asia and Spain, as well as exhibitions and talks related to photography and Asian photobooks in Spain and other European countries, and a page on which They can buy our work. In addition, you will be able to read the blog El Mar de Tethys , in which we will be publishing articles without established periodicity.

This first entry on El Mar de Tethys has been a bit long, but I wanted to tell you about its origin, the context in which it was born and the reason for eStudio Asia. If you want to be aware of photobook publications, reviews, news, audios, videos, calls, exhibitions, art festivals, and other events related to photography and Asia, subscribe to the electronic newsletter . You will have one or a maximum of two issues per month.

We hope you find of interest what you see, read or hear on these digital pages. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, send us a few lines by email to info@estudioasia.com, or, from within the website, using this form . Thank you for your interest in the eStudio Asia project. Keep in touch.