Katharina Fitz’s Paracosmic Houses Comment On The Destructive Nature Of Tourism In Malaga

Malaga, a province in the south of Spain, is well known as an often frequented, laid back holiday destination. The tourism boom over the past few decades has left the region markedly changed; in ways that are both good and bad. Fitz demonstrates this matter-of-factly through her photo montages: “The partial loss of the community of the once bustling fishing village is illustrated by the visual isolation of the houses”, she explains. Each of her images takes elements of buildings and landscapes from the towns of Pedregalejo and El Palo and layers them on top of one another. The composite houses stand without neighbors, backdropped by the ocean and sand. This striking separation makes the unusual character of the buildings more apparent and serves to cast them as the intriguing protagonists of Fitz’s story. The strange, multi-level houses are designed to look both real and unreal; a reference by Fitz to the “authentic experiences” presented to and imbibed by, tourists visiting these towns.