For the past 6 years I have been running a photography rescue project where I salvage thrown away photographs from the garbage in Mexico City. These are “expired photographs” or photographs that have lost their original meaning. Through saving them I look to offer these objects an opportunity to continue their mission as holders of feelings and memories.  

The order you will find here corresponds to groups that illustrate the changing approaches to beauty and representation throughout the 20th century. In their new life as NFTs, they add an important historical element to the NFT photography archive we are engraving on to the blockchain, tying the inherently photographic medium to its humble origins. 

Through the profits of the sales of The 50 Carpoolers Project, this rescue program guarantees its continuation and expansion for years to come. Thank you to all the collectors for enabling this to happen.

Collection of 500. First drop August 20th 2021. 
Final drop TBD.

20th Century Photographs from The Alejandro Cartagena Archives

Digitized Silver Gelatin Print

This photograph is part of The Alejandro Cartagena Archive. With each part of the archive, I look at different types of photographic representations. These found portraits of groups of friends in Mexico tie my contemporary practice to a historical context. My practice in photography began in an archive and this opportunity to rescue these images is central to my relationship with the medium. This unique NFT is a part of the cultural history of Mexico, an improbable piece of history, which now lives on the blockchain.

The photographic archive is an important part of my artistic practice as it ties the social, environmental, and political realities of present-day Mexico to their historical origins. I find these photographs in various locations from open air flea markets to street markets in Mexico City.

Group of friends #54

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