What MADRE Taught Me by Marisol Menendez

Marisol Mendez was born in Bolivia and received a BA in Audio visual communication in Buenos Aires and a Masters in Fashion Photography at the University of the Arts London. Her work has been exhibited across Europe, Argentina and Bolivia and has also been featured internationally. She was selected as the PHmuseum 2021 Photography Grant New Generation Prize winner and was one of last year's recipients of the Michael Reichmann’s Project Grant awarded by Photolucida.

Her ongoing and thought provoking project ‘Madre’ was conceived to challenge the representation of women in Bolivia and to celebrate the diversity and complexity of her culture through the portrayal of its women. In the series, family photos act as windows to the past but are deconstructed to subvert meaning and add layers of symbolism. In the portraits, women are depicted as multiple confronted versions of Mary Magdalene and the Virgin Mary but repossessed to reflect Andean traditions. Piecing together past memories and current observations, the project explores the influence of race and religion in shaping the perception and representation of Bolivian women.

When I imagined my future as a photographer, I envisioned a luminous and well-equipped studio with a creative team nourishing my ideas and helping me bring them to life. I dreamt about the outfits I’d wear to gallery openings and was most excited about seeing, touching, and smelling the printed photographs.

The reality is not only less glamorous, but also far removed from the idea of success we associate with the life of an ‘artist’ (I use the word with irreverence).

I work from my room. My equipment consists of my laptop, a Pentax K100 and a Nikon F3. Instead of collaborating with colleagues and creatives, my mom and her boyfriend assist me with shoots. And although MADRE has been my most visible project to date, landing magazine covers and being selected for renowned photography festivals, I’ve only gotten to see it through screens which means no touching or smelling printed work, no grand openings or opportunities to dress fancy.

But all that doesn’t really matter. If you make images for the sake of a publicised lifestyle you’ll probably end up with empty work, fleeting in nature and not very fulfilling. If you instead dedicate yourself to a project you believe in enough so as not to give up when things get difficult, you’ll realise that true satisfaction lies in the process. The process of creating, of birthing an idea, the process of sharing it and witnessing its transformation.

In Bolivia, photography has a lot of limitations. Stylistically, it clings to an old school style of documentation and, in terms of working conditions, institutions are scarce, incentives lacking, and facilities almost non-existent. But in spite of these difficulties, MADRE proved to me that carrying out an ambitious idea has more to do with being resourceful than having a ton of resources.

When I started, I had a clear notion of what I wanted to do but a faint one of how to do it. Because I didn’t know the path, I made my own and learned a lot as I went along. Each journey is different and will present its own set of challenges, but I want to share some insights I gained during mine, hoping they inspire you to commit to your ideas and to execute them.

MADRE steered me away from fixed structures allowing me to exercise freedom. I learned that a personal project gives you space for experimentation and time for introspection. It allows you to investigate something that interests you under your own terms. So, be bold. It’s an opportunity to make up your own rules, to experiment with language, and build universes. It’s also a moment to reflect upon your own practice, to ask yourself questions about what you’re trying to say, how you’re saying it, and why.

Another thing I learned is a long-term project demands flexibility and discipline. Things won’t always go according to plan and, more often than not, you’ll have to adapt, re-route, and summon creativity to overcome problems and shortcomings. Stay open and embrace uncertainty or, as the saying goes, ‘expect the best but prepare for the worst’.

Also, things don’t just happen. You have to make them happen. Put in the work and be responsible. You have to be your own producer and cheerleader. Have a game plan and remain strategic if you want your project to be seen. Even if you don’t want to exhibit your work, it’s always beneficial to share it with other people. Whether it’s peers, colleagues or mentors, having someone else look at your project nurtures it and it’s an easy way to see if your ideas are effectively translating into your images. Workshops and portfolio reviews are great places to receive more specialised advice and nowadays, you can access key figures of the industry from your room.

Finally, build resilience. Don’t give up if someone doesn’t immediately like or understand what you’re doing. We all dread the lines ‘we loved your work BUT’. There’s usually many of those before a ‘congratulations’ appears. So be patient but stay active. Keep submitting, researching, and improving your project.

I still have moments where I doubt my work, my photographic abilities, even myself. But I push through because I believe in the story I’m telling through MADRE. I push through because, even when my circumstances are not the easiest, they’re still privileged. Not everyone gets the chance to tell their story.