Other

2021
photographs and digital intervention

“The Other” is an ongoing series that blends the work of artists Izabela Santiago (portrait) and Mayara Smith (painting, illustration). Beginning with the photographs “Other Beings” (2022)¹, the series records images of pairs of humans who, in front of the camera, assume forms inspired by the characters in Mayara's paintings: the “beings.” Humanoid figures, but bearing no resemblance to humans, attempt to personify and represent the physicality of feelings and anxieties.

Both on screen and during the process, the project revolves around duality: two artists, two techniques, two bodies, two characters; two places… of the self and the other. Intertwined relationships. On screen, the bodies are twins: they complement each other, but are separate. They are black and white. They differ in minute details and characteristics – or what we can see of them. There is no opening for the off-screen, contextual or historical situations. The characters are reduced to what we see of them. Even if their bodies are traditionally rejected by society.

In the technical field, the ontology of photography, which asserts that there is no shadow of a doubt that what is photographed existed and can be proven², is questioned by interventions. How can one say that tattooed bodies were tattooed and not subsequent interventions? Who will say that these beings, not only human bodies, are not real?

The "Other" process unfolds in several steps: the two artists' interaction, followed by their relationship with the space and the people around them. During the initial stages of development, it is crucial for them to connect with their environment: getting to know people and spaces, and then selecting what fits. After the research, the production of the images (rehearsal, model, color correction, and printing) and finally the digital or manual intervention.