Travel and artistic nude project based on the Major Arcana of the Tarot.

My research on the relationship of body with space, objects and the ‘other’ in parallel with the study of Tarot cards, gave impetus to this work-in-progress, which began in May 2011. I wanted to produce a work on the symbols of the 22 cards – the Major Arcana. They emphasized the desire to know the world and live experiences with different cultures, ideally without stopping, having as a dramaturgical base the journey of the Hero, the main character of the story analogy behind the deck.

There is a sort of movement of the archetypes’ meanings that inspires me to produce the images based on those meanings, and to relate this to the body of contemporary beings and their experiences today – city concepts and new technologies – and thus make a connection between mythology from the Ancient Age (sacred/ritual) and the tumultuous cultures of urban civilization (profane/quotidian).

The journey’s trajectory is built on the 22 Major Arcana and based on the associations between the signs of each card with my trip. During the trip, there are meetings with people who offer to pose for photos of the artistic nude, during which we negotiate the construction of an image together and work with what emerges from the scenario of each person’s experiences, the “Dramaturgy of Happening” – dealing with the situation around us (spaces, objects, relations) and building with the material that is to hand. The naked body brings a layer of raw sensitivity to work, leaving the image clear of meaning and with more objectivity, in addition to the adrenaline and freedom of a natural body inhabiting other places. I have divided the image gallery into sessions, where the growing work progressed:

• First Session – Furniture for sale: the photos show the relationship between body, object and space, using the sale of items at the start of the trip as a context. It is also a farewell record of the things, people, objects and places I have lived in.
• Second Session – Subliminal words: the photos show the same relationship between body and space, but include a word written on a cardboard cut-out, giving a different meaning or reflection to the surroundings.
• Third Session – Proper name: the name of each participant gives rise to the image and produces the symbolism of the body-space relationship.
• Fourth Session – Apple (currently in process): I use this universal fruit to find other meanings in the body-space relationship.

Follow the trip through the image gallery below and on the website’s blog posts.