DERMIS

The subject to be dealt with is the physical scars resulting from pain-related events. In the search for a way to express the subject of pain, I felt the need to do so by photographing the scars of different people that have marked my life, that are part of my personal history, and of many others that inspire strength and personal achievement. Scars are involuntary tattoos created by the nature of skin, charged with memory and archives of unique life experiences of a human being during his/her lifetime.
Physical pain is an effect on or an alteration of the individual´s natural state. This may be caused by internal or external factors and is part of life´s natural process. It is also part of the relationship among living beings and between these and their environment.
Scars are marks on the skin that have to do with painful events, some more significant than others. They tell stories that marked the individual´s life. They are borne on the skin and are unforgettable. Some refer us to physical pain and others to the internal pain latent. Depending on the individual, the scar may represent a medal of overcoming, or a feeling that is difficult to bear. They are lines of life that stand out on the dermis, present irregular shapes and infinite patterns that the body develops in the process of reconstructing its nature. Though the skin might not regenerate itself in a identifical form to its previous state, scars tell us a new story, unique and full of beauty, forming abstract landscapes on their own account and, upon being approached, move us with their meanings and their misterious beauty.
The use of macro photography brings the spectator closer to the subject treated. These photographs are the result of a process involving more than 50 interviews done between 2012 and 2015. There is a direct confrontation that seeks to move us and call our attention upon an aspect of life that we all have in common and that binds us as the physical bodies that we are.