The exhibition focuses on a decade-long effort to research, document and produce an eyewitness account of the people and historic places of Southern Mexico.  Hansen collaborates with the natural history and the civilizing myths that come to life in the land of the Maya and people living in Colonial villages who seem to carry on their lives as though history stands still.  Hansen’s journey there documents the peoples of the Yucatan Peninsula and Southern Mexico.

The subjects include architectural treasures such as missions, churches, ancient Mayan temples, haciendas, cemetery structures, doorways and passages.  There are intimate photos of field workers, street vendors, young men and girls, children and elders.  Community and rural views include parks, village huts and shops.

“It occurs to me that the beauty of the view camera format is in its simplicity.  Anything short of a total disaster can be fixed with the basic supplies.”

– Robert Hansen

Robert Hansen was born in 1952, in Des Moines, Iowa.  In 1976, he attended Brooks Institute of Photography and received the prestigious “Thiesen Scholarship Award” for excellence in photojournalism.  His photographs have been published in numerous articles and books and are a part of many fine private and corporate collections throughout the United States, Mexico and Germany.

In the past decade, Hansen has explored new techniques of processing and treating the print medium, including the application of the oil pigment process and the making of large format digital negatives for platinum/palladium printing.  With today’s digital technologies, Hansen continues to explore new ways of extending the uses of his earlier iconic images.