Melvin Lara
Visual artist and photographer. His practice investigates the optical, chemical, physical, and technological processes involved in the production of photographic images, with attention to the mechanisms of natural resource extraction—mining, deforestation, water infrastructures, and large-scale mining— and their social, ecological, and aesthetic effects. He works with photography and video in both digital and analog formats, exploring the construction of landscape, from the gaze that interprets it to the materials that converge within each territory.
Education
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2019 — Graduate Diploma in Artistic Project Development, Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM)
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2004 - 2008 — BFA in Visual Arts, Autonomous University of the State of Morelos (UAEM)
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2006 — Photo Essay Seminar, Pachuca Photographic Archive (Fototeca de Pachuca
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2003 - 2004 — Diploma in Photography, Escuela Activa de Fotografía
Exhibitions
Solo
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2026 — Open Studio, Sona Space, Mexico City
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2019 — Platforms for Floating Life, Metro Museum, Mexico City
Contact
His work has been exhibited in various venues such as Subway’s Museum in Mexico City and Patricia Conde Gallery. In 2014, with Miguel Ángel Ortega, founded FOCO Lab, a specialized photographic laboratory based in Mexico City. Since 2022 he has co-directed Lateral, a gallery dedicated to contemporary visual culture. His most recently research was selected in PhotoEspaña 2026 for “Descubrimientos”, an international portfolio’s review during the festival. He is currently conducting research at Lake Texcoco on the malleability of images and their emergence in space.
Awards
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2026 — Selected for Descubrimientos Portfolio Reviews, PhotoEspaña, Madrid, Spain
Group
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2026 — The Silver Gelatin Salon, Proyectos Públicos, Mexico City
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2022 — FOCO Lab Collection, Lateral, Mexico City
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2012 — Revisions II: Mexican Photographic Landscape, Patricia Conde Galería, Mexico City
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2006— Una cita con Adojhur, Fábrica de Imágenes, Michoacán, Mexico