Apotheosis Now brings together more than two decades of work by Cristina de Middel in an exhibition conceived specifically for IVAM. Rather than following a chronological or linear structure, the show presents 252 photographs as a continuous flow of images, creating what the artist describes as a state of “cataract.”

The term has a double meaning. It refers to the constant cascade of images that defines contemporary life, but also to the eye condition that makes vision less clear. De Middel uses this idea to reflect on a culture in which photographs are everywhere, yet understanding what they show has become increasingly difficult.

Throughout the exhibition, documentary photography, fiction, symbolism and intuition move freely into one another. Familiar situations appear alongside strange or unexpected details, creating images that can feel factual and surreal at the same time. A child sitting on a donkey beside an elderly man, a pile of burnt pizza crusts or a steak illuminated beside an airplane window become visual fragments that resist a single interpretation.

For De Middel, photography has never been a neutral record of the world. Her work often exposes the conventions that influence what we accept as believable and the visual stereotypes that shape our understanding of people, places and events. In Apotheosis Now, this approach becomes especially relevant in an age of constant image production and circulation. Despite the apparent disorder of the installation, the exhibition has a clear internal logic. Colour, repetition, visual associations and unexpected connections guide the viewer through the space. There is no fixed beginning or end. Instead, the photographs encourage different readings and invite viewers to build their own connections.

The exhibition is accompanied by the official catalogue Apotheosis Now, which brings together photographs made over the past twenty years and extends the ideas explored in the show. Like the exhibition, the book avoids a conventional chronological narrative. Images appear as an open constellation in which documentary observation, fiction, personal experience and symbolism coexist.

The catalogue also reflects on photography at a moment when images are produced and consumed at an unprecedented speed. Rather than adding another linear story to this visual overload, De Middel creates space for uncertainty and asks the viewer to question what an image communicates, what it hides and how much of its meaning comes from our own expectations. Featuring a text by curator Iván de la Nuez, the publication becomes an extension of the exhibition and a wider reflection on photography, fiction and contemporary visual culture.

Apotheosis Now also considers the political and cultural power of images. De Middel suggests that visual culture can be used to manipulate and restrict the way we see the world, but that photography can also provide tools for questioning those systems. The exhibition ultimately asks how we might learn to look more critically at the images that surround us.

Cristina de Middel: Apotheosis Now continues at IVAM, Art Modern Institute Museum of Valencia until 12 October 2026.