Through Their Eyes Film Photography Series by Yorli Mendoza

Today, we’re featuring a series from London based photographer Yorli Mendoza. Yorli’s series Through Their Eyes brings to light the personal stories of young adults in Venezuela, capturing both their struggles and hope for a brighter future. Here is more from Yorli about his series…

The magnitude of the socio-economic crisis in Venezuela overshadows the struggles of the young Venezuelans who have refused to leave their homeland. This series attempts to reconstruct the loose narratives of the stories these young Venezuelans have told me to give an image of the country ‘Through Their Eyes.’ These protagonists have chosen to stay, and are actively trying to rebuild a new society in their own image. The resulting images are a response to their stories, feelings, and world-views.

Capturing the images on a Hasselblad medium format analog camera added fragility to the photographs. This approach seemed appropriate because going back to Venezuela felt like traveling back through time given the current socio-economic crisis. My work is influenced by nature’s symbiotic delicate relationship to human beings which elucidates that what we see and experience in the physical world is like a mirror and can become a manifestation of our emotional wounds. To a certain degree, these images are like a web of thoughts and feelings that reveals the contradictions young Venezuelans are trying to reconcile.

Read more about the project here

Analog cameras and film used: Hasselblad 500cm (find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Portra (find on Amazon)

Connect with Yorli: Website | Instagram

Check out all of our film photography features here! You can also have your own film photography featured on the site. Check out our submissions process for all the details.