FERVOR by Juan Brenner
FERVOR is a photographic essay by Juan Brenner that explores desire as a vital force in Guatemala’s Western Highlands. Set in a region marked by historical violence and complex power dynamics, the work traces the interplay between Indigenous rituals, Catholic devotion, and the intrusion of digital culture.
At the center of this narrative is San Simón, the enigmatic folk saint who mediates between the sacred and the profane. Brenner uses this figure to symbolize resistance and transformation, showing how faith adapts to twenty-first-century technology. Through striking portraits and symbolic details, the book reveals resilience not just as a survival tactic, but as a spiritual act.
Designed as a tactile experience, this first edition is a quiet, deliberate object that invites slow looking. Printed in Barcelona on sustainable natural paper.
About the Author
Juan Brenner (b. 1977, Guatemala City) is a self-taught photographer of international recognition who currently lives and works in his hometown. He uses photography as a critical tool to examine the fluidity and hybrid nature of contemporary identity and territory.
His work explores the complexities of cultural hybridization and how historical structures and present-day subjectivities are transformed through the technologies of the 21st century. In 2024, he received the Portrait of Humanity Vol. 6 Award from the British Journal of Photography, and in 2025 he was a finalist for the prestigious KBr Photo Award by Fundación MAPFRE.
His work has been published and exhibited internationally, appearing in Le Monde, Dazed, and across various contemporary photography festivals and galleries worldwide.
Specifications
Hardcover, sewn binding
185 x 240 mm
144 pages, 98 plates
First edition of 1500 copies
ISBN 979-13-990536-6-1
Press