What pieces or projects have you been working on lately?
“Show Me Who I Am” is an ongoing project that I consider the prologue to my work as an artist. In this series, I portray people close to me in personal spaces and explore the "in-between moments": ephemeral instants in which the body is essentially present while the mind wanders elsewhere. I'm interested in constructing a narrative and a game in which, although the scenes originate from the everyday, they ultimately transform into fiction.
There are several elements in the photographs that add sentimental value:
IVANNA: The wedding dress my mother wore.
ALEJANDRA: The wig my mother wore during her cancer treatment.
IVONNE: The New Year's hat 2020 (pandemic year).
What did you learn (or unlearn) while working on them?
I always arrive with a clear idea of what I want to photograph, the elements I'll use, and the lighting I'll work with. Lately, I've learned to leave room for exploration and improvisation. I feel that the most exciting moments happen when I allow myself to flow and follow my instincts. At the same time, I have a very clear idea of what I don't want to see in my images.
What words, ideas or emotions were going through your head?
Liminality, solitude, waiting, contemplation, everyday life, curiosity, melancholy, becoming, instant, nostalgia, space, time.
What's been the most difficult thing you've faced recently in your creative process?
I want to continue developing the prologue of “Show Me Who I Am” and in parallel, move forward with the following chapters. I am constantly changing, and so is my photography. I would like to free myself from the rules I imposed on myself and open myself up to new techniques and forms of expression that allow me to create from an honest and genuine place.
What is your favorite restaurant and what do you recommend we order?
Nagaoka, all the onigiri.
If your life were a movie this month, what would it be called and who would write the soundtrack?
The soundtrack to my life would be by David Bowie and the title of this month would be something like “The day I stopped talking.”
Recommend us an artist you follow who inspires you, and tell us what you like most about their work or their way of working.
Philip-Lorca diCorcia and Edward Hopper are two great sources of inspiration. I'm drawn to the way they portray their characters, and I'm fascinated by the possibility of glimpsing a fragment of the reality they depict, without the rest being revealed.
Regina Barreiro's work combines documentary narrative with a fictional aesthetic, exploring the boundaries between reality and fantasy. Her practice functions as a portal to her inner world.