Dialect by Felipe Romero Beltrán at MEP

The Studio presents Dialect by Felipe Romero Beltrán, an exhibition that invites viewers to experience time and waiting through gestures and glances.

Overview

“My work focuses on specific social situations, moments of transition, where bodies and gestures become a silent language to speak of belonging and displacement.” — Felipe Romero Beltrán

Between 2020 and 2023, Felipe Romero Beltrán documented the lives of nine young Moroccan men housed in a migrant centre in Seville. Having entered Spain illegally and awaiting the regularisation of their administrative status, they remained under house arrest in this accomodation centre. Over the course of these three years, corresponding to the average legal process duration required to obtain a residence permit, Beltrán developed a relationship of trust with his subjects, whose daily lives he captures and recounts.

Dialect blends various types of imagery: some candid, others staged in collaboration with the protagonists, who notably reenact memories of their journeys. In the face of judicial violence, imprisonment, and forced migration, Beltrán employs a formal visual language where softness and tenderness emerge in each image.

About The Artist

Felipe Romero Beltrán (born 1992 in Bogotá, Colombia; lives and works in Paris) is known for his socially engaged artistic work exploring themes of migration and identity. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions internationally.

Beltrán has published several books: Magdalena (2020, Anomalas Editions), Dialect (2023, Loose Joints Publishing), and Bravo (2025, Loose Joints Publishing), the latter in partnership with Fundación MAPFRE.