Esteban Pastorino (Buenos Aires, 1972) graduated as a mechanical technician from the Otto Krause School. He later studied engineering at the University of Buenos Aires, publicity photography at the Instituto Fotodesign and participated in the workshops of Juan Travnik and Fabiana Barreda. He later attended residencies at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten (Amsterdam, Netherlands) and at the Casa de Velazquez (Madrid, Spain).
One of his most recognized works is the series of aerial photographs. To accomplish this task, Pastorino designs and manufactures a 10 x 13 cm cardboard camera that mounts and flies on a kite, places on planes or high places, and shoots using a remote control.
The blur effect intentionally produced by the artist when the camera was manufactured simulates the shallow depth of field and, added to the zenith view of the landscape or public space photographed from above, refers to dioramas or models, thus creating curiosity in the viewer’s interpretation. There are extremely sharp details in these photographs that rule out the possibility of doubt, and a dedicated observer will soon discover that what is represented is not a model, but a real space mediated by the artist, his device and his actions.
In the artist’s words: “The result of the photographic act, due to its characteristics, becomes highly unpredictable. As I am not able to preview what the camera photographs, this fact is what actively defines the resulting image, contrasting itself with the photographer’s gaze as the defining variable of the image.”
He has held exhibitions individually in various institutions in America and Europe, amongst them the Museum of Modern Art of Buenos Aires (2003), Museum of Modern Art of Medellin (Colombia, 2008), XI Biennial of Cuenca (Ecuador, 2011), Museum of Emilio Caraffa (Cordoba, Argentina, 2012) and the Museum of Photography (Šiauliai, Lithuania, 2015).
Amongst his accolades he has received the Photographer Award (2001) and the Best Photography Show Award (2006), both distinctions given by the Argentine Association of Art Critics; the Leonardo Photography Award (2001) and the Konex Foundation; the Unesco Scholarships (2004), Antorchas Foundation (2004) and the National Fund for the Arts (2011).
He lives and works in La Plata, province of Buenos Aires.