Interview by Sarah Mills

Laura Romero, Spanish artist, based in Mexico. Bachelor in Fine Arts in Madrid, specifically in Design. Laura is a visual artist who works in painting, photography, engraving, and sculpting. Her international participation has been outstanding, appearing in art fairs from Hamburg to Istanbul, Madrid, and Paris, among others. Both her individual and her collective work have been exhibited around the world.

Statement

“I consider my work to be quite intimate. Under the scope of my own experiences, I elaborate a story about everyday life, I expose situations we all face day to day. My intention is to bait the audience into taking a second, closer, look; it is an invitation to reflect on everything that goes by in our journey unnoticed.”

What sparked your interest in buildings?

I am Spanish, but I have been living in Mexico for the last six years. I began to work with the city as a self-portrait since I arrive from an urban environment to a more rural one, and I began to search for my self here, with a view to the unknown and the new, to find my self in what was in front. These last years through art, I have been questioning the territory I live in, building a new identity, my identity.

The cities with which I work represent the mirror as an image of the reflection on one's own identity. This duality between Narciso and the Vampire of which Fontcuberta speaks about in his book "The Kiss of Judas: photography and truth," "someone pursues the reflection of the one he lacks." We are in a constant paradox searching for ourselves. The horizon of the utopia is the one being—an none horizon. We are intervals. The counterpoint between what we think we are and what we should be. There is no up or down. Symmetry breaks, colors invade one and the other. In these collages, there is an attempt to reframe and recompose our thousand facades.

Can you tell us more about the materials you have used in this latest body of work?

For these photo collages, I use only photography and the computer. I print in digital, high quality, although I have also used the Polaroid format.

What do you hope the viewer takes away from your work?

I consider my work to be quite intimate. Through my own experiences, I tell the most personal side of my everyday life, common issues that we face on a daily basis. My intention is to bait the audience into taking a second, closer, look; a reflection on everything that at first glance passes by without our realizing it.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your practice?

In March, just when we entered the pandemic, I was doing an artistic residency at the University (UAQ) in Querétro, Mexico, that I had to leave because the facilities closed. But, in my case, it hasn't been bad for me on an artistic level. This and other latest series emerged in confinement. Being locked up, I had a lot more time to dedicate to the creation and focus on what I had in mind. This helped me a lot to be able to overturn the last year.

What are your goals in the studio for this upcoming year?

I have several projects in mind to work on, not only photography, but I want to include engraving and painting. Also, in February, I have an exhibition in Madrid, and in May, I start an artistic residency in Oaxaca, Mexico.