From issue: #17 The Graduate Issue 2022
El Carnaval Que No Pasó
The title of Victoria Ruiz’s El Carnaval Que No Pasó [‘The Carnival That Didn’t Happen’], references Venezuela’s recent political history. In 1998, Hugo Chávez was elected president on a platform that called for the creation of a so-called Fifth Republic, a new constitution, a new name for the country (‘the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’) and an overhaul of the class system. His supporters described Chávez’s election as the Bolivarian Revolution, but Venezuela’s political and economic situation has rapidly deteriorated, especially since Chavez’s death in 2013. El Carnaval Que No Pasó aims to tell the story of a dark chapter via the carnivalesque and the surreal. Ruiz draws on her own experience of the crisis to depict the differences between Venezuelan citizens’ dreams, the promises they were made by their politicians and the reality many now face.
Victoria Ruiz was born and brought up in Venezuela. She studied fashion at London’s Central Saint Martins, graduating with first-class honours in 2022. Ruiz brings a multidisciplinary approach to her photographic work, drawing on her heritage, culture and interest in the carnivalesque, as well as her commitment to activism. Ruiz was selected by the Photoworks jury to receive support from Spectrum Photo in recognition of her work.
Thanks to Spectrum Photographic, Photoworks’ official print partner
