{"title":"Cristina de Middel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eCristina de Middel, born in Alicante in 1975, is a Spanish photographer whose work questions photography’s claim to documentary truth. After working as a photojournalist, she gained international recognition with The Afronauts, reconstructing Zambia’s little-known 1960s space programme through staged photographs, archival material and fiction. Darwin selects De Middel for her inventive use of the photobook and for exposing how images manufacture supposedly factual narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-afronauts-cristina-de-middel","title":"Cristina de Middel – The Afronauts (First Edition, 2012)","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"286\" data-end=\"831\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"286\" data-end=\"301\"\u003eThe Afronauts\u003c\/em\u003e is a seminal first edition photobook by Spanish artist Cristina de Middel, self‑published in Madrid in 2012. The book reimagines the real‑life 1960s Zambian space program initiated by Edward Makuka, blending documentary source material with staged, speculative photography to question and undo conventional narratives about Africa. By inserting imagination into history, de Middel foregrounds fiction as a critical tool within photographic practice, challenging stereotypes and expanding the possibilities of visual storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"833\" data-end=\"1357\"\u003eProduced in a limited run of approximately 1,000 copies, the first edition quickly became one of the most influential and collectible photobooks of the last decade. Its impact was recognised internationally: \u003cem data-start=\"1041\" data-end=\"1056\"\u003eThe Afronauts\u003c\/em\u003e was shortlisted for the Paris Photo–Aperture First Book Award and the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, and received the ICP Infinity Award. The publication is widely celebrated by critics, foundations such as the Martin Parr Foundation, and collectors as a defining work of 21st‑century photography.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1359\" data-end=\"1378\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1359\" data-end=\"1378\"\u003eTechnical Sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul data-start=\"1380\" data-end=\"2076\"\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1380\" data-end=\"1408\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1382\" data-end=\"1408\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1382\" data-end=\"1392\"\u003eTitle:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Afronauts\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1409\" data-end=\"1452\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1411\" data-end=\"1452\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1411\" data-end=\"1431\"\u003eArtist \/ Author:\u003c\/strong\u003e Cristina de Middel\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1453\" data-end=\"1471\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1455\" data-end=\"1471\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1455\" data-end=\"1464\"\u003eDate:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2012\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1472\" data-end=\"1518\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1474\" data-end=\"1518\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1474\" data-end=\"1486\"\u003eEdition:\u003c\/strong\u003e First edition, self‑published\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1519\" data-end=\"1570\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1521\" data-end=\"1570\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1521\" data-end=\"1544\"\u003ePublisher \/ Editor:\u003c\/strong\u003e Self‑published (Madrid)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1571\" data-end=\"1623\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1573\" data-end=\"1623\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1573\" data-end=\"1605\"\u003eTechnique \/ Printing Method:\u003c\/strong\u003e Offset printing\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1624\" data-end=\"1671\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1626\" data-end=\"1671\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1626\" data-end=\"1649\"\u003eMedium \/ Materials:\u003c\/strong\u003e Softcover photobook\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1672\" data-end=\"1717\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1674\" data-end=\"1717\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1674\" data-end=\"1689\"\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e approx. 24 × 30 cm \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1718\" data-end=\"1767\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1720\" data-end=\"1767\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1720\" data-end=\"1733\"\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/strong\u003e English (with visual narrative)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1811\" data-end=\"1846\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1813\" data-end=\"1846\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1813\" data-end=\"1830\"\u003eEdition Size:\u003c\/strong\u003e ~1,000 copies\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1847\" data-end=\"1968\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1849\" data-end=\"1968\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1849\" data-end=\"1865\"\u003eRecognition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paris Photo–Aperture First Book Award finalist; shortlisted Deutsche Börse Prize; ICP Infinity Award\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"1969\" data-end=\"2033\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1971\" data-end=\"2033\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1971\" data-end=\"1985\"\u003eCondition:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mint\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli data-start=\"2034\" data-end=\"2076\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2036\" data-end=\"2076\"\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DaRWIN","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51617604010322,"sku":null,"price":350.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0999\/7058\/0818\/files\/MAISONSCLOSES_7_7ae18bc3-42db-4349-a326-9fe49bef34fe.jpg?v=1768070093"},{"product_id":"this-is-what-hatred-did-cristina-de-middel-first-edition","title":"This Is What Hatred Did — Cristina de Middel, first edition","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"128\" data-end=\"628\"\u003eCristina de Middel’s \u003cem data-start=\"149\" data-end=\"174\"\u003eThis Is What Hatred Did\u003c\/em\u003e is a haunting visual transcription of Amos Tutuola’s 1954 Yoruba folklore novel \u003cem data-start=\"255\" data-end=\"286\"\u003eMy Life in the Bush of Ghosts\u003c\/em\u003e, reimagined through photography, fiction and reportage in the fraught urban landscape of Makoko, a floating slum in Lagos. At once allegory and documentary, the book slips between myth and reality, echoing Tutuola’s narrative style with staged images, saturated hues and vivid printed matter that seem to emerge directly from the underworld.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"630\" data-end=\"1222\"\u003eDe Middel maps the surrealism of Tutuola’s prose onto the lived complexities of postcolonial Nigeria, where traditional cosmologies and modern violence collide. The result is a dreamlike and disorienting photo-text in which each page carries the tension of hallucination and truth. Part photobook, part object, the edition opens with a lush botanical endpaper—lush and feral, signaling the psychic jungle to come. In the Darwin archive, it stands alongside works by Pieter Hugo and Samuel Fosso in its commitment to unsettling the gaze and expanding the visual vocabulary of African urbanism.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1224\" data-end=\"1646\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eTitle: This Is What Hatred Did\u003cbr data-start=\"1282\" data-end=\"1285\"\u003eArtist \/ Author: Cristina de Middel\u003cbr data-start=\"1320\" data-end=\"1323\"\u003eDate: 2015\u003cbr data-start=\"1333\" data-end=\"1336\"\u003eTechnique \/ Printing Method: Offset printing\u003cbr data-start=\"1380\" data-end=\"1383\"\u003eMedium \/ Materials: Hardcover photobook with colour plates and illustrated endpapers\u003cbr data-start=\"1467\" data-end=\"1470\"\u003eEdition: First edition\u003cbr data-start=\"1492\" data-end=\"1495\"\u003eSigned: No\u003cbr data-start=\"1505\" data-end=\"1508\"\u003eDimensions (cm): 13 × 28\u003cbr data-start=\"1532\" data-end=\"1535\"\u003eLanguage: English\u003cbr data-start=\"1552\" data-end=\"1555\"\u003ePages: 180\u003cbr data-start=\"1565\" data-end=\"1568\"\u003ePublisher \/ Editor: RM Verlag \/ La Fábrica \/ Images en Manoeuvres \/ Archive of Modern Conflict\u003cbr data-start=\"1662\" data-end=\"1665\"\u003eDesign: Natalia, N2 Estudio Gráfico\u003cbr data-start=\"1700\" data-end=\"1703\"\u003eISBN: 9788415118731\u003cbr data-start=\"1722\" data-end=\"1725\"\u003eCondition: NEW\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DaRWIN","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52549986025810,"sku":null,"price":75.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0999\/7058\/0818\/files\/TODWEBB_copy_3561d4c6-0c7b-4c4f-bdf2-c17163cdea46.jpg?v=1769190685"},{"product_id":"voyage-vers-le-centre-du-monde-cristina-de-middel-2024","title":"Voyage vers le centre du monde — Cristina de Middel, 2024","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"126\" data-end=\"1208\"\u003eCristina de Middel’s latest book is a surrealist travelogue and a fractured epic—part Jules Verne, part migrant diary, part hallucinatory road novel. \u003cem data-start=\"276\" data-end=\"308\"\u003eVoyage vers le centre du monde\u003c\/em\u003e documents the artist’s years-long engagement with the migrant trail through Mexico, often referred to by those who ride it as “La Bestia”. Rather than attempt journalistic neutrality, de Middel works in layers: documentary fragments, drawings, collages, and re-enacted fictions fold together into a luminous and troubling dream atlas. Monarch butterflies trace routes across maps; skulls and pyramids float alongside trucks, saints, and soldiers; a lone figure stands waist-deep in a lake beneath a dead tree. The book’s illustrated cover mimics a child's sketchbook but hides a far more charged story about the violence, fantasy, and resilience that shape contemporary migration. Published with Amnesty International, and including texts by Pedro Anza and citations from Verne’s \u003cem data-start=\"1089\" data-end=\"1119\"\u003eVoyage au centre de la Terre\u003c\/em\u003e, this is de Middel at her sharpest—turning myth into reportage, and reportage into myth.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1210\" data-end=\"1542\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1210\" data-end=\"1229\"\u003eTechnical Sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"1229\" data-end=\"1232\"\u003eTitle: Voyage vers le centre du monde\u003cbr data-start=\"1269\" data-end=\"1272\"\u003eArtist \/ Author: Cristina de Middel\u003cbr data-start=\"1307\" data-end=\"1310\"\u003eDate: 2024\u003cbr data-start=\"1320\" data-end=\"1323\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003eTechnique \/ Printing Method: Offset, photogravure\u003cbr data-start=\"1372\" data-end=\"1375\"\u003eMedium \/ Materials: Hardcover\u003cbr data-start=\"1404\" data-end=\"1407\"\u003eDimensions (cm): Approx. 17 × 24\u003cbr data-start=\"1439\" data-end=\"1442\"\u003eLanguage: French\u003cbr data-start=\"1458\" data-end=\"1461\"\u003ePublisher \/ Editor: Éditions Textuel\u003cbr data-start=\"1497\" data-end=\"1500\"\u003eISBN: 978-2-38629-011-4\u003cbr data-start=\"1523\" data-end=\"1526\"\u003eCondition: NEW\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DaRWIN","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52604803481938,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0999\/7058\/0818\/files\/TODWEBB_copy_d6295cc9-c805-43f5-aab9-69fa34ca4b82.jpg?v=1769889890"},{"product_id":"cucurrucucu-cristina-de-middel-2016","title":"CUCURRUCUCÚ — Cristina de Middel, Editorial RM, 2016","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"107\" data-end=\"666\"\u003eCristina de Middel’s \u003cem data-start=\"128\" data-end=\"141\"\u003eCucurrucucú\u003c\/em\u003e is a hybrid photobook and conceptual artifact that fuses vernacular Mexican imagery with the aesthetic codes of pulp cinema, violence, and myth-making. Built from photographs found at the La Lagunilla flea market in Mexico City in 2015, the book is a staged resurrection—part crime narrative, part visual poem, part cultural détournement. The man on the cover, bloodied and clutching a pistol, speaks from a comic-style speech bubble: “CUCURRUCUCÚ”, invoking the tragic bolero popularized by Tomás Méndez and Caetano Veloso.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"668\" data-end=\"1060\"\u003ePublished by RM and edited with creative precision, this edition blurs the line between archive and fiction, between cultural critique and visual seduction. De Middel’s approach echoes her earlier \u003cem data-start=\"865\" data-end=\"876\"\u003eAfronauts\u003c\/em\u003e, twisting documentary language until it cracks open a new truth. Here, Mexico becomes both subject and performance—a country visualised through the leftovers of its own image economy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1062\" data-end=\"1396\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1062\" data-end=\"1081\"\u003eTechnical Sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"1081\" data-end=\"1084\"\u003eTitle: Cucurrucucú\u003cbr data-start=\"1102\" data-end=\"1105\"\u003eArtist \/ Author: Cristina de Middel\u003cbr data-start=\"1140\" data-end=\"1143\"\u003eDate: 2016\u003cbr data-start=\"1153\" data-end=\"1156\"\u003eTechnique \/ Printing Method: Offset\u003cbr data-start=\"1191\" data-end=\"1194\"\u003eMedium \/ Materials: Softcover\u003cbr data-start=\"1223\" data-end=\"1226\"\u003eDimensions (cm): approx. 15 × 21\u003cbr data-start=\"1258\" data-end=\"1261\"\u003eLanguage: Bilingual (Spanish\/English)\u003cbr data-start=\"1298\" data-end=\"1301\"\u003ePages: Unpaginated\u003cbr data-start=\"1319\" data-end=\"1322\"\u003ePublisher \/ Editor: RM Verlag\u003cbr data-start=\"1351\" data-end=\"1354\"\u003eISBN: 978-84-16282-65-4\u003cbr data-start=\"1377\" data-end=\"1380\"\u003eCondition: NEW\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DaRWIN","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":52624169238866,"sku":null,"price":39.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0999\/7058\/0818\/files\/TODWEBB_copy_copy_2_3153f62c-41f0-4abd-b787-8b5d8c5bcca3.jpg?v=1770122583"},{"product_id":"journey-to-the-center","title":"Journey to the Center — Cristina de Middel — Editiones RM — 2024","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"171\" data-end=\"689\"\u003eA charged reimagining of migration as epic narrative, this book reframes the Central American route through Mexico using fiction, symbolism and lived testimony. Mixing documentary images, staged scenes and found materials, it builds a layered journey that echoes Jules Verne while grounded in present realities. Developed over years alongside migrants riding “La Bestia,” it shifts between myth and evidence. Presented at Rencontres d’Arles 2024, it stands as one of De Middel’s most ambitious narrative constructions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"691\" data-end=\"1028\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"691\" data-end=\"710\"\u003eTechnical Sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"710\" data-end=\"713\"\u003eTitle: Journey to the Center\u003cbr data-start=\"741\" data-end=\"744\"\u003eArtist \/ Author: Cristina de Middel\u003cbr data-start=\"779\" data-end=\"782\"\u003eDate: 2024\u003cbr data-start=\"792\" data-end=\"795\"\u003eEdition: Signed copy\u003cbr data-start=\"815\" data-end=\"818\"\u003eMedium \/ Materials: Photobook, hardcover\u003cbr data-start=\"858\" data-end=\"861\"\u003eDimensions (cm): 20 x 30\u003cbr data-start=\"885\" data-end=\"888\"\u003ePages: 176\u003cbr data-start=\"898\" data-end=\"901\"\u003eLanguage: English (with Spanish insert)\u003cbr data-start=\"940\" data-end=\"943\"\u003ePublisher \/ Editor: Cristina de Middel, Editions Textuel\u003cbr data-start=\"999\" data-end=\"1002\"\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Editorial RM","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53262892073298,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0999\/7058\/0818\/files\/TODWEBB_copy_copy_2c260aa4-8c80-4b25-a336-8720cdd59702.jpg?v=1776888223"},{"product_id":"the-afronauts-cristina-de-middel-this-book-is-true-2024","title":"THE AFRONAUTS — Cristina de Middel — This book Is true — 2024","description":"\u003cp dir=\"auto\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eDe Middel reconstructs Zambia’s improbable 1964 space programme through staged photography, archival language and fiction, deliberately unsettling the conventions of documentary representation. Originally self-published in 2012, the project became a key photobook of its generation, receiving an ICP Infinity Award and recognition from Paris Photo–Aperture and Deutsche Börse. This fourth edition returns the work in a compact hardcover format, preserving the collision of historical fact, constructed imagery and speculative storytelling that defines the original project. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTechnical Sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTitle: The Afronauts\u003cbr\u003eArtist \/ Author: Cristina de Middel\u003cbr\u003eDate: 2024\u003cbr\u003eEdition: Fourth edition\u003cbr\u003eMedium \/ Materials: Hardcover\u003cbr\u003eDimensions: 23.5 × 17.5 cm\u003cbr\u003ePages: 88\u003cbr\u003eLanguage: English\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: This Book Is True\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-84-09-65562-5\u003cbr\u003eCondition: New\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"This books is true","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54805788262738,"sku":null,"price":54.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0999\/7058\/0818\/files\/TODWEBB_copy_copy_6f1d96b0-03e2-4275-b2fd-1f463e9f1a31.jpg?v=1790104099"},{"product_id":"cartas-al-director-cristina-de-middel-this-book-is-true-2023","title":"CARTAS AL DIRECTOR — Cristina de Middel — This Book Is True — 2023","description":"\u003cp dir=\"auto\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003eConceived for De Middel’s exhibition at Madrid’s Sala Canal de Isabel II, this catalogue connects four projects that challenge the authority of conventional news narratives: \u003cem\u003eJourney to the Center\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eGentlemen’s Club\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Kabuler\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eVida y milagros de Paula P.\u003c\/em\u003e Migration, prostitution, war and violence are approached through De Middel’s characteristic collision of documentary evidence and constructed storytelling. The 190-page publication is presented in a handmade paper box, extending the exhibition’s editorial logic into a physical object. \u003cspan class=\"contents\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTechnical Sheet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTitle: Cartas al director\u003cbr\u003eArtist \/ Author: Cristina de Middel\u003cbr\u003eDate: 2023\u003cbr\u003eMedium \/ Materials: Hardcover box with inserts, handmade paper box\u003cbr\u003eDimensions: 31 × 23.5 cm\u003cbr\u003ePages: 190\u003cbr\u003eLanguage: Spanish\u003cbr\u003ePublisher: This Book Is True \/ Comunidad de Madrid\u003cbr\u003eISBN: 978-84-451-4066-6\u003cbr\u003eCondition: New\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"This books is true","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54805839905106,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0999\/7058\/0818\/files\/TODWEBB_copy_copy_1_4a4e51ac-00b7-432e-8a5e-8c9a532c31e6.jpg?v=1790104741"}],"url":"https:\/\/thedarwin.es\/collections\/cristina-de-middel-1.oembed","provider":"DaRWIN","version":"1.0","type":"link"}