A photographic dreamworld

The Getxophoto 2013 photography festival began its month-long run on Thursday, with a program that will submerge its visitors into the world of dreams. A total of 17 international names will be featured in the exhibition, which is taking place in the Basque Country town of Getxo and has been organized by well-known critic and curator Christian Cuajolle.

Shots of flying houses sit side-by-side with surreal photos of youngsters levitating in supermarkets. According to Cuajolle, the exhibition forms the first part of a trilogy related to the theme of other worlds.

"Talking about other worlds means talking about the current world, but at the same time projecting others," the curator explains. "The works on show represent a kind of question."

The photographs on display in public spaces - including the point where the Ereaga beach and the Algorta port meet - make up one of the fundamental elements of the festival.

"We live in a time when public spaces are becoming more and more private," Cuajolle explains. "Here we are saying to the people that this space belongs to them."

Flying houses

Among the artists who feature this year are the young French photographer Laurent Chéhère, with his flying houses; Denis Daracq, who is responsible for the portraits of youngsters hoveing in supermarket aisles; and Vicent Fournier, whose photos invite us to reflect on the relationship between humans and robots, the natural and the artificial.

The artist Mahesh Shantaram shows the outlandish and fictitious side of middle-class weddings in India, which are bathed in neon lights and artificial flowers. One of the Spanish photographers, meanwhile, Cristina de Middel, is presenting her new work, which is inspired by the musical West Side Story.

For a taste of the past, works from Jesús de Echebarría will feature, in a section called Estereoscópico . The photographer, who was born in Bilbao in 1882, captured Bizkaia in a state of transition, using a stereoscopic camera to capture landscapes, industry and the people of the Basque Province in the early 20th century.

Getxophoto 2013. At various venues throughout the town. Information point located at C/ Torrene 3, Algorta. See www.getxophoto.com for more information.