WILD THING
Lucas Garrido on fearlessly following his imagination wherever it takes him
It was 10 PM when photographer and director Lucas Garrido arrived at a bar in Seoul to meet the Wieden+Kennedy creative team ahead of his shoot for a Nike campaign. When Lucas introduced himself, Jordi Luna, a creative director at the agency, noticed by his strong accent that he was from Spain—specifically, Barcelona, like him. Their bond deepened during the shoot, as Jordi and Lucas spent day and night working together. A few months later, they met again, for Christmas holidays in Barcelona, where one night they went from singing “My Heart Will Go On” in front of a vast crowd to watching the sun rise while eating a shawarma after dancing all night. They became great friends. Cheers to that. Here, Jordi interviews Lucas over a beer in NYC.
Lucas and Jordi performing “My Heart Will Go On”
Jordi: Barcelona has had a great impact in your work. Your roots, your people, your culture—they all contribute to your really personal observations of the world. As the years go by and your career expands into new lands, how important is it to keep your roots at the center of your work?
Lucas: Growing up in Barcelona and working in the advertisement industry there for so many years, I met countless fantastic people. Now, even though I moved to New York almost five years ago, I still have this emotional anchor in Barcelona. When I do personal projects there, I feel a mix of inspiration and confidence. I have my people there who I know will do whatever it takes to collaborate, and they’ll bring their best ideas and effort.
From the series “Sau,” by Lucas Garrido
J: I feel like vulnerability is a big part of your work. What makes vulnerability beautiful?
L: I guess the fragility, maybe the fact that somehow you empathize with the subject. Maybe it makes you connect emotionally deeper with them.
J: Is that why your work often portrays people you know and love?
L: Yes. I would say most of my personal work (if not all) is full of people I love and trust. I guess it makes it safer, in a way. My loved ones know me better than anyone, and I feel protected by that.
From the series “Fallen Angels,” by Lucas Garrido
J: Who do you look up to? Where do you find your inspiration?
L: I have my idols, some photographers, but mostly painters. That being said, I think my inspiration is most likely to be found in ordinary situations, objects, people’s actions, random light reflections, my plants, a space I made up in my head while reading a book. And, of course, you know, buying books, going to art galleries, ’shrooms…
From the series “Numb,” by Lucas Garrido
J: You often depict yourself within the picture. What drives you to have that connection to the subjects you depict?
L: Maybe some narcissism? I like mirrors too. Also, I enjoy being naked… I should do it more often…
J: Your photographs often offer a narrative and composition that take the viewer into a very real dream world. Is it because for our generation, the world we live in just isn’t enough?
L: It’s funny you had that reflection, but no. Long story short, I let my personal work be the “playground” for my emotions and imagination, with no limits and no following of trends. I let the irrational me wander through all these ideas and let it pick whatever it finds most interesting. And then the rational me “finances” whatever the other guy fancies creating—as long as he doesn’t want a giraffe in the middle of Manhattan, for example. So coming back to your question: My work probably feels dreamy because the images lack a specific explanation.
From the series “Sau,” by Lucas Garrido
From the series “Passengers,” by Lucas Garrido
From the series “In Gravitas,” by Lucas Garrido
From the series “Popular,” by Lucas Garrido
J: Who do you envy?
L: Those who can live from their purest art. For example, there is this woman who makes lamps, beautiful lamps, reeeeeally beautiful lamps. She makes them and sells them to her clients. I envy those ones who feel like they haven’t adapted their talent to please people or brands, but instead they’ve worked thoroughly on their pure vision and they bring that vision to the real world. It would be nice to achieve that one day. But I’d be happy if I kept working with my clients for their campaigns, and be able to invest my money in my personal work. The perfect balance.
J: Art has the power to change how people look at the world. How does your work help move culture?
L: I think these pieces can provoke people to see how a bunch of deep emotions can be represented in one picture. Sometimes I can see surrealism, sometimes nostalgia, pessimism, lust… *sighs*. To be honest, I don’t really know if it does contribute to move culture, but certainly it triggers emotions. In fact, I don’t even care much if it contributes or not. I do this for the sake of my mental health. When you work for so many different people, creative agencies, clients… You kind of get lost, and this is the best therapy. It’s incredible how much you get to know yourself when you give complete freedom to your little brain to express all it feels, with no exterior opinions or “what ifs.”
From the series “Popular,” by Lucas Garrido
Lucas Garrido is a photographer and director
based in Brooklyn and Barcelona.