Aquí estamos en el centro de los días

This exhibition of analog photography by Italian artist Gabriele Sciotto, who has lived in Oaxaca for several years, explored his documentary and poetic interest in market days in the state's Central Valleys. The photographs pay tribute to the people who inhabit the markets and whose work nourishes local economies.

Market days form a rotating commercial system with roots in pre-Columbian tianguis (tianquiztli in Nahuatl). Each day of the week, a traditional market becomes the center of regional trade, receiving vendors from different municipalities. These are also important places of cultural and linguistic exchange among Oaxaca's Indigenous peoples.

The exhibition's title draws on a phrase from Mexican writer Elena Garro's short story ‘La semana de colores.’ The photographs engage with the story's dreamlike quality, conveying moments of beauty, sweetness, and contemplation while also depicting the harshness of the daily sale of animals and meat for human consumption. They communicate the contrasts and difficulties of life in these places.