I present a set of embroidered analog photographs.
Photography, and especially analog photography, has always held a level of magic for me. I remember the first time I saw an image develop under chemicals and appear out of nowhere, my brain melted at the beauty of that mystery. The somber atmosphere of the dark room helped a lot to this magical sensation, the smell of the chemicals, my friends of that intensive workshop talking in a very low voice, as if we all knew we were alchemists doing a serious and poetic work that deserved a lot of silence and respect.
I discovered embroidery many years later, I was very immersed in digital work and felt exhausted by it, I took another workshop just out of curiosity called "textile explorations" and the moment I picked up the needle and a thread I felt absolutely hooked and from that moment until now I haven't stopped embroidering, I feel that the slow meditative work that is embroidery saved me from a depression, I really needed to start working with my hands and my mind and my body in a more organic way and that simple act changed everything for me.
Eventually I mixed the two mediums and techniques and this is the result, it is just the beginning of a work that I am sure will take a lifetime to develop, the theme I am currently working on is titled "Where is God?" and I am finding ways to answer that question.
SOME ANSWERS:
And, personally, to fight against that inner voice that sometimes says that everything is useless, that what is the use of creating beauty, that typical, old and ridiculous comparison with those who practice medicine for example, but then I feel in every cell of my body answering me how I myself have healed in beauty, I have taken refuge in art, and my soul reminds me that the activity of creating is very much GOD's own, so I keep doing it, honest, silent and proud.
They get together to embroider, to sew, and someone explained to me that this is how they stay strong and united, together and talking is how they keep their sanity and are able to face the daily injustices and violence they have to suffer. And that is how I learned that embroidery and community are two forms of resistance and revolution. And how true wealth is always in the heart, and how GOD lives in the hands and smiles of indigenous women artisans around the world.
1- God is what cannot be seen but is always felt.
2- God is a craftswoman
3- God said let there be light and he created himself
4 - God is a shaman and a farmer.
5 - God is Mayahuel, the goddess who lives in the maguey.
6 - God can also be a cliché
7 - God's footprint
As it is a very, very, very slow and meticulous technique because you have to be very attentive to each stitch and there is not much margin for error (the paper can tear if you are not careful), the smaller the photograph the better. I have tried larger formats but as the paper can not be folded, to reach the center to make the necessary hand movements is quite complicated so I prefer to stay small and detailed.
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I feel I have a personal trauma: as a child I was expected to act like an adult and already know everything, with little room to play, experiment, make mistakes and enjoy the learning process, so my work represents for me my own healing and revolution against that.
I have learned to be patient, to enjoy the beginning of the learning process when everything seems like a failure, I have learned to make room for mistakes and experimentation, and my goal is also to share and teach someday with this love towards processes and learning.
I feel like a spider that has been slowly weaving a web that has slowly started to make sense. Slowly developing the materials and techniques that truly resonate with my soul.
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