Biography

Bandia Ribeira was born in the region of Galicia, in the North West of the Iberian Peninsula, a land of mountains, witches and seafarers. After graduating in Political Science, Bandia worked as a press photographer in a newspaper. She also volunteered working as a teacher of photography for the women in the penitentiary of Wad Ras during one year in Barcelona, Spain. After that, Bandia migrated to Denmark and after to Britain. Since then, she has been combining her photographic practice with jobs in agriculture and service industries. Bandia is a recent graduate in Documentary Photography at the University of South Wales and is working to become a professional reportage photographer. Bandia has exhibited her work in several galleries and festivals in Europe.

Bilston Woods is a forest in the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland, where a small group of people live away from the comforts of the urban environment. Its particular condition comes from being very close to the city and surrounded by motorways, new housing construction projects and an industrial state. Bilston is a piece of land that escapes to any kind of public planification although its future will be decided at the end of 2015, when institutions determine whether or not to build a fast track motorway passing through this woodland.
Bilston was occupied by activists in the year 2002 with the purpose of stopping the construction of this road. They built crafted tree houses and huts and started to make a living on the place. There is no water or electricity in the forest. The materials to build the houses and most of the goods in Bilston come from the detritus of the city.
This situation of a way of life exposed to the elements has an influence on the life of those who live there and makes them different.