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Which art books, prints and posters are available by and about this artist? Here is a sample of items of interest to a typical collector:
Print size is 13 x 15.5cm, image is 12x 12cm. Print is signed on the front, bottom edge. Print is listed in large editions inventory.
Cristina de Middel, Spanish, b. 1975
Cristina de Middel is a celebrated conceptual photographer whose work investigates the ambiguous relationship between photography and truth. Blending documentary journalism with fictional narratives, she challenges traditional assumptions of objectivity in the medium, often highlighting how mass media can manipulate or oversimplify complex cultural realities. After working for a decade as a traditional photojournalist for various Spanish newspapers and humanitarian organizations, she pivoted toward a highly creative, staged approach to storytelling.
She gained international acclaim in 2012 with her self-published book The Afronauts, which explored the short-lived 1964 space program initiated by Zambia’s space academy founder, Edward Makuka Nkoloso. Because the historical project never achieved liftoff, de Middel chose to stage the narrative using whimsical, low-budget props, colorful space suits, and striking landscapes. The series was widely praised for dismantling Western stereotypes of Africa, offering instead a playful, nuanced reflection on hope and human ambition. The Afronauts earned her a nomination for the Deutsche Börse Photography Foundation Prize in 2013.
De Middel’s subsequent projects have continued to critique societal narratives across diverse geographies. In This is What Hatred Did (2014), she reinterpreted Amos Tutuola’s classic Nigerian novel My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, using contemporary portraits in Lagos to bridge the gap between magical realism and actual socio-political issues. Her series Sharkification applied a surrealist lens to the heavily policed favelas of Rio de Janeiro, metaphorically framing the dynamics of the area as an underwater ecosystem of predators and prey.
Her innovative contributions to the medium led to her winning the prestigious Spain National Photography Award in 2017. In 2022, de Middel was named the president of Magnum Photos, cementing her status as a leading voice in contemporary photography. Her work has been exhibited at major institutions globally, including the Rencontres d'Arles, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Tate Modern, and her limited-edition photobooks remain highly sought after by collectors.
