Renowned Magnum photographer Lúa Ribeira has unveiled a compelling new body of work that examines the lives of young people living on the margins of Spanish society, creating a powerful visual narrative that reflects the alienation and uncertainty defining the contemporary era. Her latest monograph, "Agony in the Garden," presents a dystopian yet deeply human portrait of youth culture in modern Spain.
Created between 2021 and 2023 across various Spanish cities including Madrid, Málaga, Granada, and Almería, "Agony in the Garden" represents Ribeira's second major monograph focusing on her native country. The project emerges from extensive collaboration with young people living in Spain's peripheries, resulting in images that appear both timelessly ancient and strikingly contemporary. Ribeira's work captures a suspended moment in history, where traditional boundaries between past and present blur into a singular, haunting vision.
The photographer's subjects embody the complex intersection of digital culture and physical reality that defines modern youth. Their clothing, gestures, and symbolic expressions reveal deep connections to online personas and virtual worlds, reflecting the extremes of both hedonistic celebration and nihilistic despair. This digital influence plays out against the backdrop of an increasingly homogenized global culture, creating a tension that Ribeira masterfully captures in her imagery.
Ribeira draws significant inspiration from the religious iconography of her native Galicia, as well as classical painting and cinema, which serve as crucial reference points throughout the series. "I worked in the peripheries of southern Spanish cities where the arid landscapes helped ground a project that otherwise refuses a fixed geography," Ribeira explains. "The title, drawn from a biblical passage of worship, allowed me to evoke a blurry temporality. The intention was to connect a very contemporary reality to more universal themes of suffering, betrayal, impending doom, and other human fears that recur throughout history."
The exhibition showcases powerful individual portraits alongside environmental scenes that reinforce the project's themes. Notable images include "Alba Bitxx" from Barrio Alto in Almería, captured in 2022, and "Lamine" photographed in Madrid's Rose garden at Retiro Park the same year. Other striking works feature "El Cero and Kidflako" from Barrio Alto, and "Maraatack," also from the same neighborhood, demonstrating Ribeira's ability to capture both intimate personal moments and broader cultural phenomena.
The dystopian atmosphere permeating "Agony in the Garden" serves as a lens through which viewers can examine global socio-political issues through the perspective of contemporary hedonistic counter-cultural movements. A visceral sense of uncertainty runs throughout the work, particularly evident in images of decaying landscapes on the edges of greenhouse cultivation in Almería. Ribeira's consistent incorporation of religious motifs and imagery creates connections to universal themes while maintaining a deliberate suspension of clear temporality.
"Over the past decade, I've been inspired by the ways younger generations articulate themselves through expressions, images and gestures that are increasingly global and acutely attuned to the alienation of our times," Ribeira elaborates. Her approach deliberately challenges conventional documentary practices and media representations that often dismiss these movements as merely subcultural phenomena.
Underpinning the entire series is a profound sense of tragedy and rootlessness, counterbalanced only by the energetic vibrancy of the youthful subjects who move through the photographs like modern-day pilgrims. The work includes powerful environmental shots such as "Bread waste" from Cañada Real in Madrid, "Greenhouse surroundings" from La Mojonera in Almería, and "Waste" from Puche, Almería, all emphasizing themes of abundance and decay.
Ribeira's artistic philosophy reflects a deep understanding of contemporary global conditions. "In a world marked by material excess, digital acceleration, overlapping financial, migratory, and ecological crises, there are certain symbols and aesthetics that echo across geographies, expressing in different ways something about contemporary violence," she notes. "These movements are often framed as subcultural by the media, photojournalism, and conventional documentary practices. Yet, it is precisely these frameworks that I seek to resist, choosing instead to read between the lines and accept more complex and fragile narratives."
"Agony in the Garden" has gained significant recognition in the international art world, featured as part of "Close Enough: New Perspectives from 12 Women Photographers of Magnum," a touring exhibition curated by Charlotte Cotton that runs from 2021 to 2026. The work also received a solo exhibition at the prestigious Museo Lázaro Galdiano in Madrid in 2023, cementing Ribeira's position as one of contemporary photography's most important voices in documenting youth culture and social transformation.
