Mateo Guez Off World

Guez eloquently captures the lives of
children who live, work and play in
Smoky Mountain, one of the world’s
worst slums, where entire families
scavenge to survive. Smoky Mountain
is a mound of refuse outside of Manila,
in the central Philippines, named after
the methane-heavy mist hovering
over it. Guez challenges our preconceptions
of the camera by using a mobile
phone as an extension of his body to
frame his direct experience. In a streetlevel
installation, designed by Andrew
Mallis, viewers can engage in a unique
forum with Guez’s video wall while
stills are delivered to their mobile
phones. The gallery is immaterial and
the image, though multiple, is personal;
both exist in the intimate, yet social,
spaces now extended by mobile media.

Curated by Sanaz Mazinani