Text for the presentation of this exhibition

The 90s Series, 1990.

Observing her as she observes, 1990.

F. Scott Fitzgerald, the most outstanding novelist of the so-called “Lost Generation”, said that “Nothing is more conducive to the development of observation than compulsory silence.”

Although by nature less than taciturn, Ana Lourdes Herrera* tends to observe the world, particularly people, from an eloquent, serene silence.

At times, I’ve found myself watching her, in other words, observing her as she observes. What I’ve realized is that by adopting a kind of mental distance, Ana Lourdes becomes an unflinching witness to what happens around her.

Her full dominion of the photographic art permits her to move beyond technique and address the formal nuances, concentrate on the subtleties of the curious human reality.

It was Fitzgerald’s characters, portrayed either with fine irony or with a restrained sense of affectionate understanding, that made their creator the most important voice in the 1920s fiction.

Something tells us that the portraits that Herrera is showing today are the prelude to an extensive series, and if this is the case, considering the mastery she has demonstrated so far, she may become --among other things-- an essential commentator on the time in which we live.

Claudio Isaac

*Since 2017, Ana Lourdes Herrera Peralta has worked under the artistic name Lou Peralta, marking the beginning of her path as a visual artist and contemporary photographer. "Lou" is derived from the first three letters of her middle name, Lourdes, while Peralta is her maternal surname—both a personal and creative choice that reflects her roots and vision.