'Mexico is a post-apocalyptic city. It has resisted the final harbinger, including the devastating earthquakes of 1985, overpopulation, contamination worse than any human thought humans could withstand, and deepening, ever-growing misery. The country tried to enter fully into the twenty-first century without having resolved its sixteenth century problems.’

Jose Emilio Pacheco, The Last City, Twin Palms 1995

After studying economics at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Pablo Ortiz Monasterio took up photography at Ealing Technical College in London in the 1970s. Working in the photojournalism tradition, he has produced photo essays on specific subjects – indigenous tribes, campesinos, and fishing communities – as well as experimental digital and audiovisual projects. He is the co-founder of the Consejo Mexicano de la Fotografía and the Centro de la Imagen and has been featured in solo exhibitions at MoMA, Palacio de Bella Artes, Mexico City and the Centro Português de Fotografia, Porto.