Sombras como yo

Sombras como yo explores the invisible emotional landscapes we carry through urban life. Through anonymous bodies, light and shadow, the project reflects on fear, vulnerability and the possibility of finding empathy through recognition.

For me, photography has always been a way of making sense of experiences before I can put them into words.

Sombras como Yo came about during my time in Germany, far from my home country, Ecuador. Migration placed me in a space between belonging and alienation: I had to learn to find my bearings in a new country, whilst separated from the people, places and familiar norms that had shaped me. During that time, feelings of loneliness, fear and unease became increasingly prevalent, often even when I was surrounded by people in the city.

The project arose from my need to come to terms with that experience. 10 years later, I began photographing anonymous figures moving through urban spaces and, little by little, I realised that what I was observing out there also reflected something happening inside me. What began as a personal reaction to isolation became a broader reflection on the emotional life that we often carry invisibly through public spaces.

In the city, the paths of thousands of people cross every day without them really seeing one another. We learn to hide our vulnerability, sadness, fear, and insecurity behind our routines and the hustle and bustle. In my photographs, these anonymous figures appear as silhouettes swallowed by architecture, light, and shadow. Their identities gradually fade away, until they become presences that could belong to anyone, even the viewer.

I am not interested in documenting mental illness or illustrating suffering. Instead, I am interested in what happens when we allow ourselves to observe those parts of our emotional lives that we normally try to hide. The shadow becomes a metaphor for those invisible experiences: fear, loneliness, insecurity, but also the possibility of change.

Although the project stems from my personal experience of migration and emotional uprooting, I deliberately avoid making it purely autobiographical. By stripping the subjects of their individual identities, I create a space for other experiences to seep into the photographs. I want viewers to recognise something of themselves—or of someone else—in these anonymous bodies.

For me, photography is not merely a means of representation; it forms part of the process through which I understand and come to terms with what I am experiencing. Working on Sombras como Yo allowed me to observe fear, rather than simply experiencing it. Over time, I began to understand vulnerability not only as something private, but as something that can bring us together.

The project has evolved beyond the experience that gave rise to it. When the images reach a new audience, they spark conversations that no longer belong to me alone. Sombras como Yo invites viewers to pause, to notice what normally goes unnoticed, and to consider the possibility that the shadows we carry within us are not merely places of isolation, but also spaces where empathy and recognition can emerge.