Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.


Coco Capitán artist

Coco Capitán was born in Seville, Spain in 1992. At the age of 17 she moved to London, England to study Photography at the University of Arts of London (UAL) where she received her BA in 2014. In 2016, she obtained an MFA in Fine Art Photography from the Royal College of Art, London and has rapidly developed a successful exhibition career in the UK and internationally since then, often working with prestigious consumer brands.

Born: 1992 Seville, Spain

Year of Migration to the UK: 2009

Other name/s: Coco Capitan


Biography

Photographer, Coco Capitán was born in Seville, Spain in 1992. At the age of 17 she moved to London, England to study Photography at the University of Arts of London (UAL) where she received her BA in 2014. In 2016, she obtained her MFA in Fine Art Photography at the Royal College of Art. Acknowledging how growing up in Spain has influenced her practice, she has observed: ‘I had a relatively isolated childhood geographically, and this led me to explore many stories in the world inside my own head. […] The South of Spain is very different to the capitals where I live and work now. I am often absorbed by my memories and feelings of longing.’ (Vogel, 2018).

Her oeuvre encompasses photography, painting, and prose, spanning both the fine art and commercial art sectors. In the realm of commercial art, Capitán has collaborated with numerous high-profile fashion brands such as A.P.C., Camper, Cos, Dior, Gucci, Maison Margiela, Miu Miu, Mulberry, Nike, United Colors of Benetton, and Paco Rabanne as well as niche brands such as Skateroom (specialising in skateboards), Smythson (known for leather goods, stationery, and fashion products), and Biotherm (which offers skincare products). She has also worked with Samsung, one of the largest global conglomerates, best known for its electronic technology. Her fashion shows act as reflections of consumer society, and they can be categorised as fashion imagery or viewed as documentary pieces.

While her fine art is predominantly focused on photography, it is not limited to it. Environmental consciousness and sustainability are pivotal to her artistic endeavours and collaborations. Capitán’s art merges distinctive compositions with handwritten aphorisms to examine contemporary society. Balancing intimacy and social critique, she challenges our image-saturated culture. Through varied styles, from Pop Art to text-heavy pieces, she accentuates the unrecognised beauty in daily life, while urging viewers to deeply engage with and truly observe their surroundings. She honed her skills in photography under the mentorship of Mark Lebon, the London-based film director, cinematographer and photographer who worked with and influenced the look of The Face and i-D magazines in the 1980s. Her exhibition Naïvy—a portmanteau of ‘naïve’ and ‘navy’ - presented at Maximillian William in London in 2021, used the widely recognisable sailor suit to explore themes of uniformity and collectivity, positioning sailors as members of a microsociety rather than of society at large. Regarding her sources of inspiration, she remarked: ‘I draw the most inspiration from everyday life. Looking at other artworks can be good to encourage you if you don’t feel like making work, but my true inspiration is from things I hear and see on the street, and ideas that flit across my mind in the everyday. Feelings, sentiments, and experiences.’ (Capitán quoted in Vogel, 2018). Capitán maintains an active social media engagement and, while she recognises the value of such platforms, she also cautions against an overreliance. She believes that while it is a useful tool for making connections, it should not overshadow traditional real-world artistic spaces such as studios and galleries. She believes that the tangible world remains essential, especially for artists working with physical rather than digital media.

Despite her youth, Capitán has exhibited widely. Notable solo exhibitions worldwide include: Ookini, Kyotographie, Kyoto (2023); Who Art Thou: Conversations with Myself, Yvon Lambert, Paris; Naïvy: in fifty (definitive) photographs, PARCO Museum Tokyo, Tokyo, (2022); Busy Living, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2020); and, Is It Tomorrow Yet?, Daelim Museum, Seoul (2019). She has published several books, among them Middle Point Between my House and China (2017), If You’ve Seen It All Close Your Eyes (2019), and Transsiberian (2022). Coco Capitán currently lives and works between Mallorca, Spain and London, England. Capitán’s work is not currently represented in UK public collections, but can be found the collections of Maison Europeene de la Photographie (MEP), Paris and Huis Marseille Museum for Photography, Amsterdam.

Related books

  • Gem Fletcher, ‘Home as a state of mind #1: Coco Capitán, British Journal of Photography, 15 March 2022 (https://www.1854.photography/2022/03/home-coco-capitan-water/)
  • Coco Captaín, Transsiberian, (Paris: Louis Vuitton, 2022)
  • Coco Captaín, Naïvy, (London: Maximillian William, 2020)
  • Hannah Abel-Hirsch, 'Coco Capitán Disappears into the Sea', British Journal of Photography, 17 September 2020
  • Coco Captaín, Busy Living, (London and Marseille: Loose Joints Publishing, 2019)
  • Coco Captaín, If You've Seen It All. Close Your Eyes, (Marseille: Choose Commune Books, 2019)
  • Coco Captaín, Middle Point Between My House and China, (London: Maximillian William, 2017)

Related organisations

  • Royal College of Art (Student )
  • University of Arts London (Student )

Related web links

Selected exhibitions

  • NAÏVY: in fifty (definitive) photographs (solo exhibition), Maximillian William Gallery, London (2023)
  • NAÏVY: in fifty (definitive) photographs (solo exhibition), Parco Museum, Tokyo (2022)
  • Infinite Idenities: Photography in Age of Sharing (group show), Museum of Photography, Amsterdam (2020-21)
  • NAÏVY (solo exhibition), Maximillian William Gallery, London (2020)
  • Busy Living (solo exhibition), Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (2019)
  • Is It Tomorrow Yet? (solo exhibition), Daelim Museum, Seoul (2018)
  • Surface Issues (group show), Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai (2017)
  • Enlighten Snobbism (solo exhibition), Villa Noailles, Heyres (2016)
  • Middle Point Between My House and China, Photographers' Gallery, London (2015)
  • Let Me Introduce Myself, Pleasure is Yours, Display Gallery, London (2014)
  Coco Capitán
   
Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Coco Capitán]

Ben Uri library

Publications related to [Coco Capitán] in the Ben Uri Library