Mar Ordoñez is an artistic and conceptual photographer who learned to shoot in black and white. However, in her work she combines her most personal black and white photographs with colourful and narrative editorials that have their most direct model in the French Nouvelle Vague. This is because of the similarities in the colour palette, but also because of the silences in the stories. As Mar states: “the job of the photographer is silent too”. Her works have appeared in magazines such as Vice or Oyster, besides having shot several campaigns for Bershka.
It's easy to find your pictures all over the Internet but, on the other hand, it's really difficult to find information about you. Who is Mar Ordóñez and how did you get started in photography?
I was born in Mallorca and I live in Barcelona. It was my absolute adoration for Man Ray and everything related to him what got me started in photography. I love the fact that there are many photographs of mine on the Internet and very little personal information about me. It's something intentional, and I hope that it stays that way. I prefer my biography to be photographic.
Do you remember your first photo shoot?
My first photo shoot was a nude one. I bathed a painter's model in horchata. She was allergic to milk so I had to use horchata instead. The model was laughing out loud and the people in charge of the studio accused me of wanting to cause a short-circuit... a good start!
Have you always wanted to specialize in fashion photography?
My will is to grow as an artistic and conceptual photographer. I don't really see myself as an specialist in fashion. I try to approach fashion from an ironic perspective. Luckily, in the field of fashion photography I can explore interesting concepts such as eroticism, femininity and the role of identities.
Which of your works are you most proud of?
I'm proud of all my works really. However, the one I like the most is always, without any doubt, the last one.
Your photographs are quite cinematographic, looking like captures from a film. What do you find visually stimulating?
Cinema stimulates me, of course. I have a thing for the colours in Godard's films, the stories with silences of the Nouvelle Vague and Antonioni... in the end, the job of the photographer is silent too. Besides, I adore the dialogues written by Woody Allen and I'm now busy trying to watch all Robert Altman's films. My favourite one is Brewster McCloud.
It also seems important to tell a story even though that story is open to the viewer's interpretation.
I understand photography as fiction. To me it's important to use images to build up stories.
Your photographs are either very colourful, or in black and white. What is your relationship with colour? Do some pictures require intense colours while others conform better with black and white?
I learned to work with black and white analogue photography. I gradually learned to appreciate the immense possibilities of colour. My relationship with colour right now is of cheerful experimentation.
Do you prefer working with analogue photographic processes or with digital cameras?
If I'm asked for a portrait for tomorrow at three, I will use a digital camera; still, I prefer doing my personal work using an analogue camera. It's an aesthetic decision related to the treatment of colours and the texture of the image due to my will of studying what's undefined. I admit that I don't like high definition, but my attitude has nothing to do with a revival or some kind of romanticism, like those who think that there's no such thing as the smell of a just developed film roll... Analogue photography is contemporary and it coexists with digital photography, even if it's no longer predominant. And it's obvious that the process of digitalization of files makes it easier for the photographer. In addition, it offers a broader visibility.
Where does the name of your blog come from: “The art of my mother”?
It's an idea that I had some time ago, when I was thinking about names for a project I had in mind. I wanted to do some kind of dadaist paper magazine with collaborations of writers, photographers, graphic designers... only the name survived, but it was at least useful for the title of my blog. My mother loves it.
Where will we be able to see you this year?
