Presentation
The Gap is an ongoing project that, through images, questions the material representation of the border: the wall. This long-term project explores the US-Mexico border, seeking to highlight the contrast that the wall presents in such a unique space.
The border spans approximately 3,000 kilometres (1,954 miles), making it one of the longest in the world. It is often cited as one of the most expensive engineering efforts in recent history. Some sections of the wall have run as high as $46 million per mile, although the average is between $20 million and $25 million per mile, depending on terrain and construction challenges.
However, the wall does not stop migrants; often, a simple rope ladder is used to jump over it. The most vulnerable people, especially women and children, are forced into extremely dangerous terrain and/or areas controlled by brutal mafias, facing even greater risks in their search for a better future.
The wall as a barrier fails to fulfil the function for which it was designed (the numbers of migrants and asylum seekers continue to grow year after year), thus becoming a sinister and ridiculous object, the ultimate exponent of dehumanisation, social and political selfishness, absurd in a context of immense nature, and an embarrassment to the constructive capacity of human beings.
Biography
Daniel Ochoa de Olza is an award-winning independent photographer based in Mexico. With roots in the Basque Country, he has been assigned to cover history-shaping events and document diverse people and cultures. His work has received numerous awards, including the 2019 Luis Valtueña Award, when he was a finalist for his project “Cruzando la última frontera, in Tijuana”.
He has also won World Press Photo Awards for portrait series: in 2013 for “La vuelta de un torero” (The return of a bullfighter) and in 2016 for “La tradición maya” (The Mayan tradition). In total, he has won 11 Pictures of the Year International awards, various National Headliner Awards, NPPA, CHIPP, among others. His images are part of private collections and museums, have been exhibited worldwide, and he has participated in major international photography festivals.
Born in Pamplona on October 22, 1978, to a writer and an art history teacher, Daniel shifted his focus from painting to photography in 2001 when he began studying Artistic Photography at the Pamplona Art School and later at the University of Barcelona.
From 2004, Daniel was based in Madrid as a staff news photographer with The Associated Press. In July 2017, he transitioned to a freelance career to concentrate on a blend of long-term personal projects, breaking news, and client assignments.
Daniel has conducted master classes, workshops, and conferences at several universities and educational centers in Spain, Mexico, Guatemala, and Chile.
