©Bego Antón, Book Cover, All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

Bego Antón has just released a new monograph, All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse.

In the past few years, we have become somewhat anesthetized to the hollow rantings of outraged politicians claiming they are innocent victims of “witch hunts” when we suspect they have no inkling as to the origins of the expression.  Many Americans are well aware of the sad legacy of the notorious Salem witch trials, hearings and prosecutions for alleged witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts, mainly in Salem Town from February 1692 to May 1693. More than 200 people were accused, 30 were found guilty, and 19 were executed by hanging.  But Bego Antón digs much deeper as she delves into the archives of a series of the most extensive “witch hunts” in the 16th and early 17th centuries in Spain triggered, in part, by the Spanish Inquisition.  Antón’s focus is on the Basque Country and Navarre in Spain, the site of her own origins, and her monograph is a richly honed photographic homage to the many women unjustly accused of witchcraft since 70-90 % of those accused were women.

Bego Antón is a Spanish photographer focusing on subjects of human behavior and our psychological involvement with the natural world. She is particularly interested in niche subcultures that challenge our perception of truth, reality and fantasy. A member of Women Photograph since 2020, Bego studied journalism and documentary photography, and has master’s degrees in photography and design from Elisava, and Editorial Design from Bau (Barcelona). She currently teaches photography in Barcelona and Madrid. Her work has been widely featured in photographic magazines and publications such as The New York Times, National Geographic, The Guardian, Esquire and Le Monde, as well as on BBC and CNN. She has exhibited at FotoWeek DC, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, and in New York, Switzerland, Germany and Iceland. In 2017 she won the PhotoEspaña Revelation Award.

Instagram:  @bego_anton

©Bego Antón, Spread from, All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

Antón employs female family members and friends to re-enact scenes of fire, brimstone, sorcery, potions, poultices, torture, hanging and drowning…all of these scenarios culled from actual records of witchcraft trials from the region’s history.  Her portraits of mature women looking directly into the camera are haunting in their ability to recall the fate of so many of their predecessors who faced their accusers knowing that the witch hunt was not really about witches, but about their own fates as women.  She also depicts various bizarre rituals and practices ascribed to witches during their trials often involving interactions with toads, snakes, birds and other animals.  What adds to the authenticity of Antón’s photographs is her extensive research and knowledge of the Basque region conveyed in her choices of natural rugged landscapes of dense forests, rocky coastlines and stormy seas that conjure up the incantations of so-called witches.  Furthermore, the text of the book includes a bi-lingual presentation of details of the witch trials in both English and the local Basque language that makes the images all the more real.

©Bego Antón, Spread from, All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

©Bego Antón, Spread from, All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

But Antón is clear about her project of ten years, “Everything I photographed was a fantasy.  The world described by the accused women felt extraordinary to me.  I was moved to tears when I read their horrifying testimonies.  Like the account of Maria Juana, a woman from Anotzibar who maintained her innocence to the end, even though they shaved her head, tortured her on the rack and with a burning brazier, paraded her mounted on a beast of burden after she was garroted, drowned and finally burnt her body…. But even so, I would lose myself in a fantasy world of clothed toads and exotic animals wandering through the Basque forests.  Photographing this universe, this irrationality, this magic, has given me a deep sense of connection with the place I come from and the people who live here.  I can’t stop wondering what those women would think of this project.  Am I getting close?  Would they agree with my version? Would they feel represented?  Up until this point, I’ve always photographed women I can talk to, women with whom I can bond.  But I’ve never spoken to the women who gave their statements to the inquisitors.  For a long time, I thought about how I might approach them, other than by reading their statements.  I could only think of one thing that was around back then and is still here today:  ancient trees.  So, I traveled across Euskal Herria to photograph them.”

©Bego Antón, from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse

© Bego Antón from All of Them Witches, published by Overlapse