Andrea Frongia

Ambrotos, in Ancient Greek “immortal,” the first name given to photography, is a photographer specializing in historical analog photographic techniques, with a particular focus on late nineteenth-century processes. Her work is based on an in-depth exploration of photography as a physical, slow, and unrepeatable experience, in constant dialogue with time and memory. Through a faithful reproduction of an 1890 minute camera, she creates instant portraits using a late 1800s technique, offering sitters an authentic and immersive experience of early photography. Each image is the result of a completely manual process, where gesture, waiting, and human connection are essential parts of the work. Describing herself as a “nostalgic photographer from another era,” her practice stands in contrast to the speed and immateriality of contemporary photography, restoring the ritual and artisanal value of the photographic act. She lives and works in Fuerteventura, where she develops her artistic and educational practice. As part of the Experimental Photo Festival in Barcelona, she will lead two workshops dedicated to the 1890 minute photography process, sharing the history, technique, and practice of one of the most fascinating processes from the origins of photography.