Ibérica — Ricky Dávila

This book is Ricky Dávila’s stark, textured portrait of Spain, rendered in bold black-and-white and assembled like a political poster wrapped in photobook form. Published in 2008 by Gran Sol, Ibérica gathers Dávila’s photographs into a visual essay that strips back the myth of modern Spain to reveal something more brutal, elemental, and industrial. Bound in raw grey boards with a heavy black spine, the cover echoes the aesthetic of a printing press or militant communiqué. Inside, Dávila looks outward: to dockyards, rural parades, faces marked by labour and time. His Spain is neither romantic nor folkloric — it’s unresolved, physical, and historical.

The design, done in collaboration with MAD Design, leans into this muscularity. Each page carries the weight of photojournalism filtered through a poetic lens, with a literary text by Antonio Soler threading through the book like a minor chord. While often grouped with the more lyrical Spanish documentary tradition, Dávila's work here echoes the intensity of early Anders Petersen or the politicised formalism of Miguel Rio Branco. Ibérica is a document of resistance — both cultural and visual — and remains one of the strongest articulations of post-Franco photographic language.

Technical Sheet
Title: Ibérica
Artist / Author: Ricky Dávila
Date: 2008
Technique / Printing Method: Offset printing
Medium / Materials: Hardcover, cloth spine
Dimensions: 24 x 30 cm
Pages: Unstated
Publisher / Editor: Gran Sol Comunicación Visual
ISBN: 978-84-612-1812-7
Language: Spanish
Condition: New