PHOTOESPAÑA

The  Cali, Colombian photographer's legendary series on view at PHOTOESPAÑA in Madrid

The 15 pictures in 'Prostitutes', first shown in 1972, make up one of the most important works by the late photographer and journalist Fernell Franco.

Regarded as one of the best photographers to come out of Latin America, Fernell Franco (Valle del Cauca, Colombia, 1942 - Cali, Colombia, 2006) worked as a reporter, ad man and artist. The series on display at the Círculo de Bellas Artes, as part of PhotoEspaña 2011, was first shown in 1972 at Ciudad Solar, a place frequented by intellectuals of the moment in the city of Cali.

Franco couldn't help but give a certain advertising slant - a professional defect - to these 15 portraits of prostitutes. This, in addition to his sketches with cut-outs, solarizations, chemical processes and dyes, make it a very special series, in which the sordid reality of prostitution is converted into images of striking beauty.