Lucha Libre is the passionate and vibrant sport of Mexican wrestling. It dates from the 1930's, developing over decades into a sport whose players are known as Luchadores, who display throuhout their costumes the diverse cultural influencees that reflect the vitality of Mexico.

With his collection of over 120 portraits, Malcolm Venville intimately captures the complexity of the Luchador by depicting both the human element and stage persona of each wrestler with direct and uncluttered photography. He has chosen a style that explores directly the enigma of the Luchador, their elaborate costume design and extraordinary presence.

Using large format film photography and traditional camera techniques in a Mexico City studio, Venville purposefully plucks each character from his immediate environment to simply focus on his essence. Beside each wrestler's portrait sits his fighting name in custom designed Mexican-style typography along with a revealing quotation carefully selected from an in-depth interview with the subject. The result is a unique and compelling window into the life of a Luchador - a world normally shrouded in mystery.

As a child of profoundly deaf parents, Venville is fascinated with the unspoken language and still countenance of the Luchador mask. It is through Venville's tenacity and desire to depict this serious form of expression while revealing the humanity underneath that culminates in the stunning portraiture series Lucha Loco.

English and Spanish text
32 x 26 cm
272 cm
Hardcover with dustjacket in box