Biography 

Victor Vargas Villafuerte (b. 1980, Mexico)

Victor Vargas Villafuerte is a Mexican photographer and director based in Montréal. He has a BSc in Actuarial Sciences from UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico), and a diploma in Professional Photography from Dawson College. Vargas co-directed the short documentary Paal, which was nominated to the Mexican Academy Award in 2013; he also won a first prize at the Sony World Photo Awards in 2012. His artistic work has been showcased in several exhibits across Canada, Mexico and internationally.

Victor Vargas’ photography deals with the uncanny, in which he aims to discover an inherent beauty in the hideous. His documentary work and street photography, on the other hand, allows him to reveal social complexities in everyday life in Mexico, Canada, and other countries, hinting at these locations’ collective pasts and futures. Victor’s work has been showcased in the solo exhibition La Moitié Lointaine (Maison de la Culture Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal, 2019). His work has been part of the collective exhibitions Autour de la Table (Around the Table) (La Centrale Galerie Powerhouse, Montréal, 2024); Tracing Labor Territories (Sur Gallery, Toronto, 2024); Flux Acoustiques (multiple locations, Montréal, 2022-2023); Mobilità (Maxville Studio, Montréal, 2017); Carbon (as part of CONTACT Photography Festival, Neubacher Gallery, Toronto, 2014); and the Hector García Photography Biennial (Hector Garcia Foundation Gallery, Mexico, 2013).