+13 The Scenarios of Pilar García Merino
Pilar García Merino
The creative process used in the Imbalances series. The work focuses on the psychological dimension of human beings, delving into concepts such as fear, loneliness or anguish. They are photographs recreated in the studio with cutouts or models created for that purpose.
I use the mise-en-scène to build small stages, with cutouts and recycled material that I later photograph. These are small-scale decorations made from cardboard, paper, wood or metal. They are usually manageable materials in order to make their realization easier. I am collecting everyday objects that I find at home, on the street or in Chinese bazaars such as cotton, cloth or plastic to simulate, for example, the skies and the seas. I also use wires, dry branches, sponges, brushes, etc., materials that I recycle for later works and that I keep in boxes cataloged by themes (vegetation, skies, buildings…).
To achieve a mysterious and unsettling atmosphere I use low key lighting and try to incorporate apparently empty areas, in shadow, to hint at what is not seen and thus reinforce the psychological tension. It is a contrasted lighting, outlined based on chiaroscuro. I almost always use continuous backlight, reducing opaque objects to silhouettes. Sometimes I add small point lights, moving a small flashlight through different areas of the image, while the shutter remains open, to get detail in some areas.
For me, the shadowy area is very important because it is an area rich in expressiveness. In order to capture it, I need the transition from light to shadow not to be so abrupt but to be smoother. For this reason, I sometimes work with small punctual, lateral, very light lights that do not overlap. As a result of all this process, we find a series of constant resources: the silhouette, the shadow and the semi-darkness.
What attracts me most about photography is its ability to create the illusion of reality. My intention as a photographer is not so much to capture reality but to recreate it through a method of representation that allows me to generate a particular visual narrative.
The staging is a powerful creative tool that allows us to cross that line between reality and fiction. The image that appears in the viewfinder produces an illusion of reality and places us, in some cases, before the doubt of its true existence.
My goal is to create a psychological landscape that represents both the collective ghosts and fears and the hope of the individual. A self-absorbed individual who is immersed in his isolation, absorbed in his own introspection, and whose state of mind permeates the outer space with strangeness and melancholy. It is, therefore, a process of recreating atmospheres and scenes charged with symbolism about the life cycle of the human being and his reflexive position on existence.
*This project has been financed with the Visual Creation Aid Scholarship from the Art and Law Foundation and the VEGAP Assistance and Cultural Fund.
Equipment:
Camera: Canon EOS 1
Optics: Macro 100 mm, Zoom 24-70 mm
About the Author:
Pilar García Merino has a degree in Audiovisual Communication from the Complutense University of Madrid.
Since the year 2000 she has regularly held individual and collective exhibitions. She has participated in workshops, presentations and round tables and her work is present in both public and private collections. She has received numerous awards, including the Golden Bee Honor Award, First Signo Editores Prize, First Caminos de Hierro Prize, First Injuve Prize for Young Creation, First Prize “Live to fulfill it” Mapfre Foundation, First Prize City of Alcalá, First Prize “Mezquita” City of Córdoba, First Prize City of Alicante, Asisa Honor Award, First Prize Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo, First Prize Caja de Extremadura, Injuve Stays Scholarship for Young Creation and Scholarship for the Visual Creation of the Art and Law Foundation and the VEGAP Assistance and Cultural Fund.
She currently combines her artistic activity with teaching and cultural management in different Spanish Schools and Universities.
Web Sites:
garciamerino.com
instagram.com/pilargarciamerino
facebook.com/pilar.garciamerino
