But why “Neck deep”?

At the end of the summer of 2012, the artist had a personal crisis exacerbated by the times in which we are living, particularly marked by the devastating unemployment hitting many people he knew. This is when he decided to launch a campaign through social media in which he invited anyone who wanted to take a photographic self-portrait, which was to be sent to him with only one condition –and the key of the project- that they should be completely wet and in the pose of emerging from water. He wanted them to show an attitude of renewal, anger, strength… any feeling linked to non-conformity and the attitude of breaking with a destiny that, in many cases, it seems impossible to change.

It didn’t take long for many photographs to arrive, and Jurado, seeing them, began to conceive the exhibition as a whole, and the idea was born that, beyond being a mere pictorial exhibition, there must be an intellectual concept overarching all of the works that affects the spectator. As such, the works must be carried out individually but without losing sight of forming part of something bigger; the Idea is the main thing. As such, when the spectator accesses the room, they will perceive that they are not alone. More than twenty people await them with their feelings, their lives, their fears, their strengths, and their anxieties. With this, the artist masterfully allows those of us who go to the exhibition to feel observed by many eyes, and makes the spectator no longer a secondary agent but, rather, the epicentre of the project.

For this, Manu Jurado used his best medium, watercolour. Through this technique and with a style that borders on realist shapes, he shows faces that are full of pain or hope, depending on the case. With all of this, he seeks, not only to cause feelings of anxiety, sadness, strength or energy in the spectator, but rather, for the latter to participate in the work and see themselves surrounded by people who, like them, have problems and concerns.

It is now time to come face to face with the work, to access a place that is full of people. Will they observe you, or you them? Are you alone in the room? Are the portraits sinking or emerging? Whatever the case, they are all neck deep*.

*Text extracted from the text by Enrique Garrido Montero "Hasta el cuello (Neck deep) by Manu Jurado" from the catalogue that accompanies the exhibition.