Can you imagine what it would be like to see our body through a small window? No, I do not mean to see the muscles and organs. Ligaments or tendons. No, I’m not talking about going down into more detail and seeing the cells or the chemical reactions that take place inside us. I’m talking about going further. I’m talking about seeing through that little window something that our eyes cannot see with the naked eye.
Let your imagination fly. Take my hand and enter our inner worlds with me. Let’s give a slightly more poetic, more conceptual vision to that anatomical part of which we are made and which is responsible for our senses, our vital functions, our mobility …
Have you noticed how many similarities exist between many of the systems, natural or artificial, and our inner workings? Do you think that we have understood the world better by knowing ourselves or, on the contrary, we have better understood how our body works thanks to knowing the world around us? Is beauty outside or inside? Outside and inside? Have you ever considered the poetry inherent in the human body? Sta Plaísia. Inside. Inside. This series is born with all these questions and concerns.
And… why Greek? Simple. Classical Greco-Roman culture was the first to approach the study of the human body from an artistic point of view. The cult of the body in their mythologies was quite plausible. Expressions such as “herculean bodies” based on gods and demigods with extraordinary bodies, legends such as “Spartan education” where physical discipline touched the limits. The culture that laid the foundations of the current vision on aesthetics, the potentiality of human capacity, the creators of the Olympic games … The complete series has a strong inspiration in poses, lighting and composition from Greco-Roman art.
Regarding the photographic technique used, the shots are achieved in the studio, with very controlled and programmed lighting, and a predominant use of the Snoot and the Octabox of 140 as main lights. As in all my works, the use of editing and post-processing has been tried to minimize as much as possible, only using it when the weight of the idea and the logistics itself were unattainable with the available means of production or when the fact of working alone it was an impediment when it came to securing the window to the body (as in the back, for example). The perspective placement of the window and its inner box produce a depth effect sought to visually expand it towards the interior of the body.
The basic anatomical shots were achieved in 4 very intense sessions, lasting several hours each. According to my work methodology, in total solitude and with the use of a remote shutter and timer. All the sessions were carried out in a space of 12 days, so as not to lose the physical preparation for the series. This specific physical preparation for this project, beyond the normal years of training required, consisted of a 6-month stage of functional training, very similar to the routines with which Greco-Roman soldiers trained. The last two months I have based my diet on a Paleolithic diet style, with a low carbohydrate content. With this strategy, a natural but muscular body is achieved, very similar to the bodies that Greeks and Romans wore and that we can see in so many sculptures and paintings.
The chromatic range and color temperature of the works, as well as the exposure and the histogram with a tendency to the left, have been designed to display this series in premises with intimate and warm lighting, enhanced with dark frames or matting for a greater appreciation of details. Five of the key pieces that make up this project will remain unpublished until the series is physically exposed.
In the “behind the scenes” videos you can discover more technical secrets of the takes. The most important part, the part of the message, each person will have to discover and interpret for themselves. Therein lies the magic of the spectator-artist connection. I hope you enjoy this series as much as I have enjoyed creating it.