Jonathan Matthey
2025 — WIP
Barcelona
A study of weight carried by the body, imposed by society and endured through faith. IRONWILL is not a migration documentary. It is a study of men pushed toward their physical, social and psychological limits, and of the forces that allow them to continue.
An estimated 3,200 informal scrap collectors work across Barcelona, many of them undocumented migrants from Senegal and other parts of West Africa. The work examines how men transform pressure through discipline, brotherhood, obligation and belief.
THE FORMAT
IRONWILL is a multi-channel moving-image and sound installation accompanied by a series of large-format Polaroid portraits.
The central installation consists of three independent looping films. Each channel explores a different register of pressure: physical labour, psychological endurance, and the rituals of faith, brotherhood and recovery.
The films do not follow a fixed sequence or resolve into a single narrative. Their relationships shift continuously as separate images, gestures and sounds coincide unpredictably. A body under strain may appear beside a moment of prayer, silence or rest, producing new meanings with each cycle.
The sound composition combines metal, breath, street noise, testimony, prayer and silence. Each channel retains its own rhythm while contributing to the wider spatial environment. The photographic series comprises twelve original 8 × 10-inch Polaroids produced in a restricted black-and-yellow palette. The portraits act as still counterpoints to the moving image, removing the subjects from the flow of labour and confronting the viewer directly.
Technical Specifications
- 3 independent looping video projections
- Spatial multi-channel sound
- 12 original 8 × 10-inch Polaroids
- Variable installation dimensions
Behind The Scenes
IRONWILL took shape slowly across Barcelona, through months of gaining access and trust. These images document that process.
The work called for long observation, learning the culture, traveling to Senegal, understanding the men and their lives. Trust had to be earned in places where being seen can carry a cost.
