Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your background and everything you’re currently working on?
I seek to express and understand myself through different artistic tools. My journey has always been tied to my need to explore the internal and transform it into something tangible. I believe that if you stay true to your essence and follow what’s within you, things align almost as if by magic. Currently, I’m focusing on projects that combine photography, video, and music. I’m also practicing pole dance—I love expressing myself through my body.
I don’t work with rigid goals; I let ideas flow as if everything already exists and just needs to be discovered.
Who were your artistic idols growing up? Is there anyone you still admire today?
As a child, I admired those who could express intense emotions and create worlds that felt like they came out of a dream. Today, I’m still inspired by people who transform the ordinary into something extraordinary, and who find strength in vulnerability and beauty. What I admire most is the ability to create authentically, without fear of exploring the visceral and intimate.
Some artists who have embodied this for me include David Lynch, Gregg Araki, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and, more recently, Robert Eggers.
Your photography has a very distinctive visual style. What inspires the colors, compositions, and themes you explore in your images?
I approach colors and compositions as if I were channeling emotions rather than concrete ideas. My goal is to create images that feel like fragments of a larger story, like pieces of a dream or scenes from an unfinished film. I’m drawn to characters with surreal touches who, despite their extraordinary nature, have something real about them because they reflect aspects of other people or myself. In each image, I seek a balance between the dreamlike and the human. I also find a lot of inspiration in the symbolism and compositions of tarot, and when possible, I incorporate references to these elements in my work.
Music is also an important part of your practice. What are the connections between your music and your visual work?
Music and visuals are not separate in my mind. Everything comes from the same impulse: to transform and externalize something. For me, music provides an atmosphere that can’t be captured with images, and vice versa. Sometimes, a melody leads me to imagine a scene and other times, an image inspires a sound composition. It’s a constant dialogue where each medium brings something unique to the other, yet both communicate the same essence.
How do you approach the process of turning an idea into a finished project?
My creative process is more intuitive than planned. I don’t start by thinking about what I want to say; I just let the idea take shape on its own. At first, I work without questioning too much, trusting the unknown. Later, as the project begins to take form, I analyze what it means and how it can evolve. For me, creating something authentic requires accepting that you won’t always understand everything at the beginning. Clarity comes as you work, and sometimes even when you see the finished piece.
In your opinion, what’s the best online platform to showcase your work today?
I use Instagram. I’m not sure if it’s the best, but it allows you to connect with a wide audience. I’d like my art to inhabit other spaces, as platforms change constantly, but your work and your essence are the only truly consistent things.
Lily Carmesí – www.instagram.com/rubi__azul/
