Each project on my website attempts to show this feeling: of what has gone, of what I have been, of who has crossed my way. There are no stories, they are just memories, they are just dead episodes of my own trajectory. They do not intend to be ‘works or art’, but rather an intimate testimony of situations in which I found myself wishing to take pictures, trying to innocently preserve an “I” that can never be in communion with others. This is an “I” who is always wandering around and taking pictures not to feel involved in order to become distant and therefor; to remain sensible.”
Ángel Enrique Colunge Rosales was born on November 1st 1979 in La Oroya, “one of the most polluted cities in the world.” When he was three years old his mother brought him to Lima while his father worked in mining settlements as a teacher. He grew up in the Elio neighborhood in the Cercado district in Lima, Peru, where he still lives today. He attended the ‘Fray Luis de Leon’ elementary and high school, which was close to his house. “I did not learn anything there. What I have learnt, I learnt it from the books my parents bought me.”
The photo’s that Angel takes have an honesty about them. There are no gimmics, or tricks, except those imposed on the lens by light and shade. You can sense that he is an honest person, unafraid to be exposed. In his own words you get a feeling for the man. “I am boring in real life but when I drink I am somehow funny, after which I am horrible. I feel I am more ‘cholo’ than Peruvian and this makes me proud.” He does not hide behind a false facade, and he speaks of his life with facts, and has no pretension.
“I was frequently ill, and I seldom played in the streets. My best friends were the Mori, the most generous family I have ever met. My father took a lot of pictures of me when I was a child and, this way, fulfilled the unavoidable task loving parents do. That was how I met the Polaroid and the Reflex cameras… that was also how I understood that taking pictures is a ritual of love.”
This “ritual of love” is a passion that Angel has allowed to foster, and grow. His early formative years expressed in the images he takes today show us a mind that is insightful and observant. The contrast of light and shadow, both illuminate and hide truths that Angel shares with us all. His images open vistas of thought, that allow our minds to feel the dramatic melancholy of his heart, and give us unsolicited insights into the thought processes of this extraordinary man.