Samuel Cueto

Samuel Cueto is a Spanish-Algerian photographer, born in 1977.

His photos talk about ghettos in Bangkok, Phuket or Pattaya- places where tourists don't usually go, a dodgy environment where social rejects, drug deals, mafia and prostitutes live. The reality of this working class area is shown by him in an unfiltered manner and without any political concerns.

Familiar with this environment, Samuel Cueto also talks to us about himself through portraits of those people with an obvious chaotic background, weakened but genuine beings, who have a wonderfully magnetic effect on the spectator.

While many photographers have tried to capture the world of ghettos and suburbs without actually managing to go beyond the exoticism of a safari photography, Samuel Cueto isn't worried about dirtying his hands and showing what goes on behind the scenes like the scum or the rejected ones by our society.

This young photographer has managed to focus on our current problems through his camera: accepting the other for who he is despite his background and origins.

Mostly in black and white, his photos are aesthetically pleasing and let out a sort of timelessness, all the while highlighting the features, physical expression and the look of his subjects.

Samuel Cueto exhibited his "City of Smile" series at the Galerie Argentic from March till April 2016.

The 193 Gallery presents the second big exhibition of Samuel Cueto from the 24 of October to the 30 of November 2018, with exclusive new works made in India and Senegal.