Dove to the skies

The recognition of who we are and the places we come from are fuel for the way we look at things. In Ricardo Cases’ photography, there is a constant search for his own origins and those of the universe.

This photograph is part of a work dedicated to colombiculture, a unique form of pigeon racing that is popular in the Spanish Levante, and which takes place usually during the last two hours of daylight. It consists in releasing one female pigeon that male pigeons chase to get her attention. The winner is the one that spends the most time close to her during the competition. A referee is in charge of choosing the winner, while participants enthusiastically watch the scene.

This practice serves as a scaled stage to recreate a whole life vision. The activity of the pigeon fanciers brings into play elements such as sex, competition, hope, gambling, triumph or failure.

The book Paloma al aire (dove to the skies), the result of his exploration, became a bestseller in 2011, and was shown at the Rencontres d’Arles festival, where it received very good reviews.

Ricardo’s interests lie in that old tribal attitude, the same one that runs through and is the focus of his work: a kind of anthropological recognition that portrays ancient practices that are far from contemporary times.