A dialogue with Meret Oppenheim's work
2022
Series of photographs inspired by the work of Meret Oppenheim.
I was invited by Rocío Bueno to participate in the project ‘Tú, yo, ellas, nosotras’, a group show where 12 contemporary female photographers dialogue with 12 avant-garde female artists –Meret Oppenheim in my case.
Even though I did not want to replicate any of her works, but playing with new codes that connect with my own language instead, I did wink at some of her artworks using a pair of lavender gloves that evoke her works “Fur gloves with wooden fingers” (1936) or “Pair of gloves” (1985); a broken match as the many that appear in her work "Painter's snack" (1972); or an orange like the one she is holding in the portrait her close friend Irène Zurkinden made of her.
My purpose was to work with the images as Meret Oppenheim played with words in her poems: with a free metric, an ambiguous meaning, a particular use of alliterations, a very playful approach, dream visions and a characteristic black humor.
At the beginning of the process, I also had the need to be in front of one of her artworks, convinced that an intimate and direct moment with her work would give me the keys to what I was going to do; but, as expected, the only thing there was of her in the only two museums in Madrid where I could have found her work, was a photograph of her body taken by Man Ray. Once again, I came across the constructed narrative of an artist who, instead of first being recognized as such, is first recognized as a muse. And at that moment I was more aware than ever of the need and relevance of projects like Rocío's.
