PAT O'HARE
Apart from Pat, the team of artists working on this project, Palas de Rei: One Territory, Many Perspectives, is composed of Ann Lauryssens and Iban Van der Zeyp, both from Belgium, and a great team of artists living in the region:
Lúa Catuxa Aguete Naveira is a producer and director who works in the audiovisual and entertainment sector. At the age of 17, she moved to study the Baccalaureate in Performing Arts at IES Sanxillao, Lugo. At the same time, she entered the Xoán Montes Conservatory of Music in percussion. Since 2020, she has been working as a freelance photographer and videographer under the name “Ollada Producións” and has been a music teacher since 2019 in different schools such as A.C. Bringuelo, the Monterroso School of Music or the Palas de Rei School of Music. In addition, she has continued to play on stage since 2015 with musical projects such as “Cuarta Xusta” or “Sonâmbulum”.
zOe iriARTE ( zOe viXión) is originally from Palencia and now lives in the Ulloa. She has been “in search of a sincere look”. A REPORTER, and a performer.
Ann Lauryssens studied photography in Belgium. She first had a photo studio and later moved on to journalism, combining the love for photography and storytelling, writing human-interest stories as a chief-editor of her own magazine. A career change to being the owner of a geek store led to an interest in pop culture and movies. This new passion drove her back to journalism in the form of movie criticism, and she now writes movie reviews for a large Belgian entertainment platform. The love for photography has never faded and next to film-related photography, she also explores the artistic side of the medium. Her involvement in the Do Picho project is focused on capturing beauty in Palas de Rei’s everyday life as an outsider.
Xabier Mailán defines himself as an imagosonic creator (poetry, music, cinema, graphic arts) interested and focused on the distillation of his own and unique voice, as a (loving) transcript of the connection with the other, with what is outside, with everything. A long and intense back-and-forth relationship with the Arts and Cultures, explored and felt in direct and inseparable communion with their intimate life walk: A full experience that nourishes, inhabits, protects and activates natural environments, rural habitats, care, crafts, and agriculture.
José Antonio Nieto is a versatile and self-taught artist. He has several years of experience and various exhibitions. His photographic work is present in different continents.
Oscar Varela is a multidisciplinary artist. Actor, audiovisual producer, radio announcer and photographer, trained in various artistic disciplines and with several years of experience, and with works in many different countries.
Iban Van der Zeyp is a Belgian visual artist. He has a background in photography, first as a journalist and real-estate photographer. Later he switched to artistic photography with a focus on architecture and abstract images. Although his role at Do Picho is to support resident artists as a volunteer, he joined the project to provide an outsider view on Palas de Rei.
The project is co-curated by Do Picho’s founder, Ralf Jurgens, and by an icon of Galicia’s cultural scene, Braulio Vilariño.
SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE PROJECT
When will the project take place?
The project is starting, and Pat and some other members of the team have already started taking photos. Pat will leave by mid-October and come back for the opening of the exhibition in 2026. Ann and Iban will leave in mid-November (and may also come back in 2026).
Other members of the team will be meeting regularly throughout October to April 2026. Together, the team members will define the scope and vision of the project and discuss everyone’s contribution. The local team members will meet with individual members of the community and with some business owners, to discuss participation in and support of the project, and will take photos throughout fall and winter 2025 and the spring of 2026, whenever opportunities arise.
What will the team photograph?
Pictures will be taken of the town itself, but also of places across the entire municipality; and of people in streets, fields and public places, in bars and restaurants, in their houses, in their workplaces, always with the consent of the person being photographed.
Where will the photos be exhibited?
A small selection of photos will be exhibited in an exhibition in the Castelo de Pambre, at the same time as a photobook with a larger selection of photos will be launched. In addition, we will seek to exhibit photos in other places throughout the municipality, such as bars, restaurants and other establishments. Some photos will also be posted on Do Picho’s website and Instagram page (@do_picho).
How can I participate?
If you live in Palas de Rei and you or your family or business would like to participate in the project, by having your photo(s) taken for potential inclusion in the exhibition and/or photobook, and/or by making any other suggestions, please contact Do Picho at info@dopicho.com.
How is the project funded?
Do Picho is a non-profit association, and the project is a non-profit project. To be able to cover expenses related to the project, we are seeking funding from public and private donors. Any donation, however small, will be welcome.)