Esko Männikkö’s second exhibition in our gallery is a journey through all of his latest works. Männikkö (Pudasjärvi, Finland, 1959) invites us to embark on a conceptual and visual journey of 60 photographs. In the series we present there are portraits (perhaps the kind of work he is mostly famous for), still lifes, house doors, abandoned spaces... All pictures exude a feeling of isolation and melancholy. They create a special atmosphere which is the result of a strange mixture of naked realism and poetry. Männikkö’s series of portraits, of which he presents a selection, were made in several different places, such as the woods of Laponia, the Mexican-American border, Sao Paulo, or La Mina neighbourhood in Barcelona. The subjects of those portraits are characters living in a state of true improvisation. These pictures are easily identifiable with anthropological/sociological research, although they present less requirements and less need for equality. They rather aim at expressing approval of this way of life as a valid option. The series introduces different characters with special intensity, a fact we may read as a declaration of authenticity. "Flora y Fauna", of which we also present a selection, consists of a study about the notion of still life. There are several concepts involved in it, such as vegetation, fauna, plus all that comes into scene when they meet a technified civilisation. This work takes as a starting point research on mother nature and the designations derived from it, and aims at transforming its several concepts into guesswork; experiments based on what we see and the circumstances in which nature exits through our eyes. The first conclusion is presented through several meaningful, thin layers, all related both to the image and the true form of nature. The very title of the works, some of which include a final question mark, prove the artist’s intention to establish several levels of meaning and a wink to the audience. The exhibition also includes "Organized Freedom", a series which presents details of doors belonging to abandoned houses, a paradoxical metaphor about the real possibility of enjoying freedom in a perfectly organised society. They are empty rural houses, forsaken by owners in search of a better life. This represents the execution of real freedom, which should lead to a state of theoretical wellbeing. In this series there are also images of street dogs filling bleak spaces or empty houses. These stress the nature of such contexts, which come across as hostile but also inspiring, as well as loaded with memories and determined by them. Last but not least, there are two common features to all of Männikkö’s works and exhibitions: the peculiar nature of his frameworks, as well as the special arrangement of his works in space. As far as frames are concerned, they have been acquired in market stalls or reconstructed by the artist in the simplest possible way. It is frames what gives photographs their unique nature. This is because, although they belong to a series, the way in which they are presented makes them unique. As for the artist’s special arrangement of pictures, they are presented in a highly unusual and well out of the ordinary way which breaks habitual visual rhythm and balance. Männikkö’s special layout creates groups of works which are often unlike. This results in great baroque-style work, endowed with great visual richness. el espacio plantea un montaje complejo en el que rompe la convención expositiva de ritmos visuales y equilibrios compensados y crea conjuntos de obras en cierto modo dispares con un resultado de gran barroquismo y riqueza visual.