“I do understand photography as a medium capable of illuminating the deepest corners of human experience and providing a mirror for society to examine itself.”
Marc Hors is a documentary photographer and storyteller. His artistic approach is one of capturing the social and cultural nuances of individuals, friendships, and families within the collective situations they inhabit. His images serve as an invitation to peer into private and intimate worlds that have been made all the more complex due to the socio/political/economic contexts that shape them. It is in this manner that Hor’s gently crafts his portraits so as to spark curiosity and critical thinking with regards to environmental and human rights issues, and social change. He shows human beings in human-made situations, in all their splendor, nuance, hardship, and terrible beauty, making neither an attempt to shock or minimize but forging a window through which the viewer can glimpse, and possibly discover, the felt existence of the being within the image.
Marc grew up in Barcelona, Spain, living since then in many different places worldwide, working from the different projects he has taking part in. Marc works between Barcelona and New York, from where he coordinates exhibitions, presentations, and projects under assignment.
Marc studied photography and darkroom technics at the Institute of Photographic Studies of Catalonia, in Barcelona.
In 2007, Marc embarked on a 5-year photographic project in search of natural, social and cultural values that characterize the countries of the American continent. As a way of transportation but also as a multicultural passport he chooses the bicycle. Stating in Alaska, he ended in Puerto Williams, the Chilean Antarctic after 5 years, 20.000 miles, and 14 countries.
Indira Urrutia, Marc’s wife, from La Calera, Chile, joined the project in San Francisco, CA. Together displayed the project over 300 times along the journey in schools, cultural centers and universities to promote solidarity, equity, participation and respect among cultures by linking what they learned from human behaviors, beliefs, traditions with environmental and human rights issues.
Upon returning to the SF Bay Area, Marc and Indira became deeply troubled by the images of refugees floating on overcrowded boats trying to escape the war in the Middle East. As with their experiences among refugees and forced migrants in Latin America, they continued on their path to link humanity through direct participation and through photography, to be able to engage people from different continents and bring awareness to each other’s realities.
They decided to volunteer in Athens, Greece and help the refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq in any way that they could. Marc also hoped that in visually capturing the experiences of the people that are in the grips of this crisis, he would be able to bring to light the common humanity of people seeking a world of peace.
“I realized that images as well as being able to tell the story of each person is crucial in helping others see ourselves in each other. I called the project ‘We Are All Refugees’ because we are all responsible to varying degrees for what is happening in this world, and refugees, like us, have the same basic human needs, like living in a safe home, acces to public health, open education and acces to a decent employment. In fewer words, to live with dignity. Since the beginning of mankind, our common ancestors walked through mountains, prairies and crossed raging rivers seeking a better life. It seems like today’s humanity has forgotten this”.