Ordinary angels

The angel observes, but has nothing to learn.
Yes, he already knows everything. He always has.

I have often wondered: where do stray thoughts go?

Divine creatures whose function is to observe, note, witness and report, Angels also perform the task of recording seemingly unimportant things.

The respectful distance Angels maintain from the adult world is an approach full of tenderness, even if their irony is very much present. These nameless beings perceive our most intimate desires, witnessing the passions and anxieties of humans in search of meaning and beauty.

The Angel observes and listens to humans. From the child who draws to the old poet worn down by the years who drags himself along in search of his past. From the motorist who is knocked down to the delightful acrobat who leaps into the air. The Angel observes, but has nothing to learn. Yes, he already knows everything. He always has. The time for questions never came for him: he knows where time begins and space ends, he knows that she worries about her son or that he does not want to run into his sister. And he is exhausted from knowing.

We have all wondered at times whether small everyday gestures, however insignificant, are observed by some spirit who remembers them and, so to speak, records them, as in a storybook or encyclopaedia, or whether, on the contrary, these seemingly insignificant gestures are abandoned to the river of becoming, rejected and forgotten for the future.

At birth, an Angel visits all children and tells each one about their future life. As he leaves, he leaves a mark above their mouth, a sign of the amnesia of knowledge. To be born, one must forget. But while every human being forgets this secret, the Angel remembers and bears the burden of knowing the secret of life. When the child was a child, he did not know he was a child. But the Angel was never that child and wishes to become one. For him, joining the world of men means finally possessing this mark of the Angel. For Angels, freedom begins where knowledge ends.

Photographing Angels is about rediscovering as much as possible the magic of everyday life, the wonder of life in peace, so that it does not fall into oblivion. Thus, my photographs fulfil the task of angels. Revealing these images is my profane and imperfect solution to accomplishing a traditionally divine task. In this sense, the use of black and white for Angels, as if they saw only the essence of things, is essential.

Thank you to Wim Wenders for his film "Wings of Desire", which allowed me to meet these Angels. Thank you to Eliséo Subiela for his film "No Te Mueras Sin Decirme Adónde vas", which allowed me to see beyond.