Store Room
Alfredo Caliz
Madrid, Spain 2008
Aging taxidemy animals in the warehouse storage of the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales in Madrid.
‘This was a photograph I took while shooting for El Pais magazine, to highlight the problems that the Natural History Museum in Madrid had. I was taken to this place on the outskirts of the city and I remember entering a large warehouse, and it was full of these dissected and preserved animals, there were eagles in cardboard boxes, beavers, otters, all kinds of animal, it was a scene of destruction really, you could feel the presence of dead animals everywhere. There were whale bones stacked up in an old toilet. That this was in fact the collection of the Natural History Museum, it was a terrible way to preserve everything.
I remember not knowing where to start, but there were plenty of things to photograph. I found this wall was illuminated by natural light at the entrance, the deer was there, the ladder, and the blue archives on the right side of the photograph, and I thought to myself, why not move some of the other animals in. So I took the vulture and the monkey and then the mouse. I placed the animals in front of the camera, probably the same way I would like to see them in a museum, as something beautiful to be shown to people. I think that’s why it works.’
Specification
Alfredo Caliz
Alfredo Caliz has travelled widely, producing over 150 photo stories for El Pais Semenal, the largest Spanish weekend supplement. His work often explores patterns of human behaviour and sociability. It has been exhibited widely in venues including Metrosur, Galerie du Fleuve (Senegal) and Casa Elizalde (Barcelona) and La Fabrica (Madrid).
Alfredo’s first photo book Inshallah (2006) was produced over a period of 10 years over numerous visits to Morocco, exploring the tension between modernity and tradition in the country. In 2012 he published 40, a set of portraits of 40 year olds in Spain and The Diary of a Taxi Driver in Casablanca, both published by the independent publisher 2 Sardinas Ediciones. In 2015 he was included in a photo book project ‘Todas Direcciones’ where six photographers present their impressions of Spain, each travelling along one of the arterial roads coming out of Madrid and spreading across Spain.
Your Print
When will I receive my print?
We produce prints in a batch every two weeks. Shipping can take up to one week in the UK, and two to three weeks internationally. Orders should be received within 3-5 weeks depending on your location.
What will I receive?
Your print will be posted flat, in a protective sleeve, to avoid damage or curling in transit. Prints come with a Panos Prints provenance certificate with background information about the image and the photographer.
The paper is A4 sized, the image will be smaller than A4 with a white border around it - see Image Specification for exact image size. Borders will be laid out as demonstrated by the print images on the site. We do not provide framing services and images of framed prints are only meant to be illustrative.
Print Care
Paper and ink
We print on Hahnemuhle Baryta FB, an archival fibre based 350gsm fine art paper. It is a bright white paper with a traditional character finish and heavy weighting. This paper has long been the industry standard paper for digital printing.
What is a giclée print?
Giclée comes from French and literally means ‘squirt’, referring to the spray of very fine drops of ink that produce an inkjet print. We print with archival paper and pigment inks to the accepted standards of fine art giclee printing found within the collectors market. Prints should last over a hundred years and with care longer than this. Avoiding extremes of light, heat and humidity will help prolong the life of your print.