A soft poeticism marks Santiago Sierra Soler’s photographs. His studio portraits often reveal his subjects’ vulnerable, playful nature—sometimes strangers, though often friends. His images often feature muted colors or are shot in black and white. This openness translates into his commercial work, in which he brings a tender sensibility to his projects with brands such as Adidas, BOSS, Chanel, Dior, Estée Lauder, HBO, Nike, and Swarovski and magazines such as i-D, Interview, and Vogue. In addition to photography, he has commercial film projects, as well as several independent narrative works, exploring topics such as young love in a small fishing village in Mexico, a scripted docu-series made while living in New York City, and a film that looks at the darker side of the fashion industry based off of peers’ experiences.
His first book, Nahual (2022), emerged from his extensive travels in Asia and South America and an interest in natural systems and indigenous thinking toward the relationship between environmentalism and spiritualism. The book is a collection of images he created in collaboration with a community in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, centered on the Yucatec-Maya archaeological site of Ekʼ Balam. A release for the book explains how “Nahual refers to human beings who have the power to shapeshift and transform into animals, elements of nature or perform supernatural acts. It is also a form of introspection that allows those who practice it to have close contact with the natural world and the spiritual world.” Like Santiago’s other works, this series highlights the strength of the spirit of his subjects and the intimate relationship between photographer and subject.
Neta Vere spoke with him over the phone to discuss his process for making images, how he draws inspiration from nature, and how we all shapeshift between different identities.
Neta Vere: As an artist, how do you define beauty?
Santiago Sierra Soler: Beauty is a way of seeing the world. I believe that beauty is engraved in nature, so I tend to gravitate toward natural and authentic beauty. I’m very interested in systems and thinking around beauty—such as Phi, the golden ratio, and indigenous teachings. I’m currently working on a project at Bellas Artes that looks at the indigenous symbol of Olin. Olin is the same concept as Pi—a sort of never-ending spiral formula that relates to ideas of beauty and perfection. Though it goes beyond a form of aesthetics and informs how energies relate to each other and how different systems are interconnected. I also believe that beauty is a way of perceiving reality that is always guided by where we are in time.
NV: The idea of stripping a subject of artifice comes through very clearly in your work. Often in your studio photography, your subjects are nude, in terms of dress but also make-up. There is an intimacy and vulnerability that comes through.
SSS: Absolutely. I like the idea of finding simplicity and honesty in a picture.
NV: In terms of process, how do you structure making images? Are your images more constructed, or are you more intuitive? What pace do you shoot at?
SSS: I like to communicate with my subjects, whether it is for a brand collaboration or a personal project, and whether I know them before the shoot or not. As people always act differently, especially depending on the camera and context, it completely changes the structure in which I shoot. like to be very responsive. It’s interesting that we are at a point where even when I’ve traveled to remote places, such as in parts of India and Mexico, phones have become so ubiquitous that people are prepared to have their photos taken. Phones have completely changed this idea of humanity and our ability to be subjects and to pose.
In terms of shooting, I prefer working early in the morning and playing very mellow music to set a tone. I find that people are still not their complete selves yet. If I shoot later in the day, they’ve already had so much time to be affected and to construct themselves. Many stories happen during the day, and in the morning there is less.
NV: What do you mean that there is less of a story in the morning?
SSS: We are continually building our identities, and I think how we present ourselves in a photograph can be different if we are having a shitty day or a great day. I am particularly curious about people’s eyes and what they can tell us. I want to look behind the mask and identity and try to find what we all feel around ourselves. It is very hard to capture, but it is incredibly beautiful when it happens. Even with children now, it’s getting harder to do because of their comfort with phone cameras. I love photographing children. They are connected to their parents’ identities but aren’t attached to them. They are rewiring them in a way with their own.
NV: This variation and transformation of identity is a thread throughout your work. I’m thinking now about your first book, Nahual, which explores the concept of humans who are shapeshifters between species, especially with other animals.
SSS: Either consciously or unconsciously, we shapeshift between our masks. I believe we have several masks, as these help us to interact with our surroundings. I’m fascinated by the version of ourselves we present to different people—which self we show to a lover or a parent. I think masks are a type of tool that we should embrace and play with. I remember growing up photographing my friends in various situations and trying to capture their multitude of selves. I’m not a big fan or proponent of this idea of commodifying what makes us different. Rather, I am interested in the flexibility of being able to play with different aspects of ourselves and recognizing the shared similarities that we all have. I think there is power in celebrating what we share. For me, a positive future would be one where we become aware of our shared essence as humans and to embrace it while remaining playful and constantly reinventing and exploring different parts of ourselves. Of course, we all have unique variations, but we are coming more from a shared space than that of difference, and we should be able to reinvent ourselves all the time.
NV: What does experimentation look like for you?
SSS: It can be challenging because once we have a way of doing things that we know work, it can be hard to switch. Though, it’s essential to try new methods and mediums. I started as a musician, so I have that background. In addition to taking photographs, I direct, but I also draw and paint as a form of experimentation. I need to experiment with different mediums to expand myself continually. As humans, we often want to control and categorize things. However, I would rather push against boundaries and refuse to define myself for anyone else.
