Book Review: Dessert First! by Hanna Quevedo

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Book Review: Dessert First! by Hanna Quevedo

February 22nd, 2023 by Cary Benbow

From ‘Dessert First!’ © Hanna Quevedo

Dessert First! has been the example I’ve been comparing against other photography books and zines for the past year. This project was a reminder of how fun it can be to make something with photographs, found art, text, ephemera, and a stretchy band or two to keep all that goodness inside. Like a live wire, Hanna Quevedo’s vibe will grab you and not let go.

“There is no single America. It’s a country of contradictions, a country of multitudes. Hanna’s book beautifully showcases the wonder, the strangeness, the terror, the joy, the pain, the heartbreak, and the triumph of this confusing place. Her photos tell stories of people trying to find their place and make sense of a country that has forever been undefinable…

It’s a glorious collection of work.” – Chris Hrasky, drummer of Explosions In The Sky.

Quevedo is a contemporary portrait and documentary photographer based in Mexico City. She is known for her candid and intensely saturated analog images. Born in Spain, she studied photography at the San Telmo School of Arts. She received her degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Malaga. In 2006, upon receiving the Ibero-American Scholarship, Hanna moved to Mexico. After living in Guadalajara for a year, Quevedo traveled to the United States to work as a photojournalist; from there, she began what would become a decade-long adventure, crisscrossing the United States with a camera strapped around her neck.

The Dessert First! zine/project was the work of many hands, two of which belonged to Hanna Quevedo, but she quickly gives praise to Hydra+Fotografica team of contributors for their involvement. Hand in hand with the educational program Incubadora de Fotolibros, and Burn Barrel Press in New Orleans – they’ve created a zine thats feels raw, electric, honest and diaristic. The screen printed cover and folio of pages held together by a rubber band (no staples, no glue, just a sturdy rubber band) is a refreshingly honest approach to make an unpretentious art object which is also a successful photographic work, and candid expression of the period of time Quevedo experienced the reflection of the world around her. We are rewarded with a unique view of the way she saw the world over her decade of travel – voyeuristic and diaristic all rolled up into one. The zine/project made me yearn for the days of creating calendars and flyers on a Xerox machine with simple materials of paper, magazine clippings and a glue stick.

From ‘Dessert First!’ © Hanna Quevedo

From ‘Dessert First!’ © Hanna Quevedo

From ‘Dessert First!’ © Hanna Quevedo

Published by Burn Barrel Press and Hydra/Inframundo, Dessert First! is an art book of Quevedo’s personal photography from her time spent in the US, arriving in a uniquely tactile experience. Quevedo designed the book through the Incubadora Fotolibros Program at Hydra under renowned designer Ramon Pez and photographer Ana Casas Broda. The deeply intriguing imagery throughout Dessert First! chronicles Quevedo’s travels across the US, in between assignments, and through the democratizing lens of her 35mm camera. Dessert First! is an intimate glimpse into urban and rural America.

From ‘Dessert First!’ © Hanna Quevedo

Hanna Quevedo has exhibited her work in Spain, the US, and Mexico, where she frequently works with numerous media outlets, private clients, festivals, and art centers. Outside of her freelance work, Quevedo has been involved with several activist groups from the Bay Area and served as a photo-voice-teacher for kids from the Latino and LGBTQ communities at the Youth Leadership Institute. In 2016 Quevedo returned to live in Mexico City, where she continues to support her community as a photo-voice teacher at FAROS (Factories of Arts and Crafts), combating gender violence by deconstructing the idea of “romantic love” using analog photography. You can visit the website for Burn Barrel Press and get your Dessert First! : https://www.burnbarrelpress.com/product/dessert-first-by-hanna-quevedo

About Cary Benbow

Photographer, Writer, Publisher of Wobneb Magazine

View all posts by Cary Benbow →

Location: Online Type: Book Review, Zine

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