Espíritu Santo
Spéos x Magnum Creative Documentary & Photojournalism 2021 / 2022
Isabel Serrano Vivancos
“Espíritu Santo”, translated as “Holy Spirit” is the name of a neighbourhood in the south of Spain, Murcia. This is where my mother was raised and where my grandparents still live. I grew up hearing all kind of stories about this place and its people, which fascinated me and pushed me into the development of this project.
Nowadays there’s a lot of criminal activity due to the marginalisation of the place. But this story is not about the ilegal stuff that surrounds this place. This story is about the people in it, their identity, and their values.Basically who they truly are, not what they do to survive nor the place they live in. This project started as a way of letting them choose the part of themselves they want people to recognise, without the stereotypes of the neighbourhood itself.
I’m Isabel Serrano, a young photographer from Murcia, Spain. Filled with passion and curiosity, I use documentary photography to explore my surroundings and interact with the world around me. Photography for me is a tool to make connections with people I haven’t had the pleasure to meet. Also, to reinvent the relationships I have with my inner circle. It’s a way to engage in a deeper way with social issues, feelings and the complexity of the human mind. isabelserranov.com isabel.serrano.vivancos@gmail.com @isabelserranov