By: Jeanette Dallen
jeanettedallen@gmail.com
“We all have something to say, or something we do not want to say but that is there, and I capture it through the eyes.”
A native of Cuba, dermatologist Flor Mayoral is the photographer behind the international Silence Project, to be presented in the city of Coral Gables starting July 5.
Hundreds of photographs compiled by Flor since 2007 form part of the exhibit, in which each subject appears placing an index finger over their lips in a gesture of silence.
“A few years ago I visited Santo Domingo in Guatemala and saw an advertising photograph of a girl making the silence signal; her gaze was serene, it was very special. That made me think of the gesture of silence as a universal language that needs no translation and has no barriers or obstacles to being understood. Years later I began taking photos of people making that gesture.”
“When I take the photos, one person’s gaze is always different from another’s, and one can perceive emotions and feelings that can be of sadness, peace, joy, fear, mischief.”
“It has become something of an obsession for me. I ask no questions about religion or political interest. I simply show them photos of the project I carry on my phone and ask them to participate.”
“With this exhibit I seek to unite in a single language all the people I meet through my life, when I travel, or simply those I come across on the street. It can be someone important or not, old or young, handsome, ugly, or simply someone in disguise or wearing interesting clothing.”
“This is a project for the city of Coral Gables because it involves many members of this community, from Mayor Raul Valdes-Fauli to the boy who delivers the mail. It also invites the public to participate, to observe the photos and interpret the emotions of the subjects.”
Mario Vargas Llosa. He was having lunch at a restaurant in the community and I took the opportunity to ask him to pose in silence for me.
I have exhibited part of the collection in Alicante, Spain, in Wynwood – Miami, and I will soon exhibit on the island of Aruba.
The exhibition comes to Miracle Mile – Coral Gables as a partnership between the Coral Gables Business Improvement District (BID), the Coral Gables Community Foundation, the City of Coral Gables and Conde Contemporary gallery.
Meet photographer Flor Mayoral, who will surely ask you to pose in silence, on July 5 from 6 to 9 pm at Conde Contemporary (204 Miracle Mile), where tax-deductible portraits can be acquired, benefiting the Coral Gables Community Foundation.
The same day, from 8 to 10 pm at McBride Plaza (150 Miracle Mile), 9 photographs of 6″x9″ will be exhibited, along with 4 simultaneous projections of more than 300 photos.
Participate with your photos #silenceproject and upload them to Instagram, and maybe your photo will be chosen to be projected the following weekend. The main event, with a public exhibition at McBride Plaza (150 Miracle Mile) – including large-scale portraits and interactive projections on Fridays and Saturdays – will run from Friday, July 5 through August 2. But starting June 28 itself, fourteen galleries will show 75 black-and-white portraits of people who make up the fabric of the Coral Gables community in a silent reverie.
Selected Miracle Mile storefronts include: 200 Miracle Mile; 202 Miracle Mile; 216 Miracle Mile; 219 Miracle Mile; 223 Miracle Mile; 225 Miracle Mile; 257 Miracle Mile; 299 Miracle Mile; 308 Miracle Mile; 330 Miracle Mile; 355 Miracle Mile; 365 Miracle Mile; 376 Miracle Mile and 380 Miracle Mile.
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