Between 7,000 and 8,000 people die each year in Argentina due to traffic accidents, a number that is significantly larger than most other countries in the Americas. The country's notoriously lax laws (and lack thereof) regarding traffic violations—including driving under the influence, speeding, wearing seat belts, etc.—result in an estimated $10 billion in losses each year. Argentina-based Contender Diego Levy, armed with a Hasselblad, took to the streets of Buenos Aires to document various car wrecks.
Untitled from the series Crashes, by Diego Levy
Untitled from the series Crashes, by Diego Levy
Diego explains:
In Argentina, the number of traffic-related deaths is 3 times higher than most countries of Europe and the United States, which have obligatory road safety education at school, high fines for traffic offenders and rigorous exams to obtain a driver's license. The levels of traffic-related deaths in Argentina remain sky-high. Traffic-related accidents are responsible for 35.2% of all deaths, making the traffic-related death rate in Argentina one of the highest in the world. These accidents cause 21 deaths per day (more than 7,000 per year), more than 120,000 injuries per year, and enormous financial losses (estimated at $10 billion dollars per year), according to data from the Argentine NGO Luchemos por la vida. As a photographer, I am interested in working within urban landscapes, and car crashes have been part of this landscape for some time. Like many people, I find myself strangely drawn to the visuals of car accidents. With this in mind, some time ago I decided to photograph car accidents in the city of Buenos Aires. My intention is neither sensationalist nor morbid: I simply want to use these images to portray the violence and intensity of the accidents caused by negligence, lack of education and the lack of respect for one's own life and others. We Argentines take to the streets and highways with an almost suicidal attitude that is undoubtedly one of the most serious problems of recent years. This work aims to explore an issue that is common to many cities around the world. The project will present the harsh reality of the statistics on traffic accidents. These destroyed vehicles, abandoned like metallic sculptures in an inalterable city, are an urban metaphor for the widespread violence in which we are all immersed. The finiteness of life is exposed amidst twisted metal. And on a more personal level, working on my own fears may, in some way, help to exorcise them.
Untitled from the series Crashes, by Diego Levy
Untitled from the series Crashes, by Diego Levy
Diego Levy was born in Buenos Aires in 1973. Since 1991, he has been working as a professional photographer. In 2001, he received the first prize in the New Journalism Contest granted by the Foundation for the New Iberian-American Journalism presided by Gabriel García Márquez. In 2003, the organization FiftyCrows, based in San Francisco, California, selected Levy as a finalist in their annual International Fund for Documentary Photography. In 2005 and 2007 he received grants from the Buenos Aires Cultural Funds. In 2008, he was awarded the Grand Prix of National Chamber of Visual Arts of Argentina. In 2009, his project Crashes received the first prize in the Book Author Fair in the Fotoseptiembre festival 09, Mexico. He is the author of the books Sangre, published in 2006, and Choques, published in 2010. Since 2006, he has been represented by the VU Agency in France. He lives and works in Buenos Aires.
Untitled from the series Crashes, by Diego Levy
Untitled from the series Crashes, by Diego Levy