Today we’d like to introduce you to Iciar Vega De Seoane
Hi Iciar, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I grew up in an artistic environment, I always liked photography and art but it wasn’t until I was 24 when my boyfriend gave me my first reflex camera, that I started to take pictures more seriously. Later he encouraged me to study photography, I studied one year in a private school and then I had an empty year until I could get into a public art school in my city (I failed the first entrance exam because I was trembling in the drawing exam and it went very badly).
In that ‘blank’ year in between, I set out to learn photography by doing and developed the skill of self-portraiture with a tripod. Using my body because I had no other model if I wanted to take pictures every day or almost every day to practice and develop as a photographer. I mean, working hard to find my artistic identity, which I think I started to get there from taking pictures almost every day for about two years.
In the middle of this process, I was admitted in the art school, which I was very excited to study for two years and which enriched me a lot.
After that in 2016 I went through a strong personal crisis. I changed friends and my photos changed too. It was no longer enough for me to work in diary of life (in my case it was a fictional art producction diary). And I started to make photobooks in which I combine photography and writing, because I needed to work on projects that had a beginning and an end, and that demanded more effort from me to elaborate, to think more. Because making a project/ photobook is very difficult and the process takes a long time.
So that’s what I mainly do now, photobooks.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Well, I have encountered quite a few problems along the way. The problems that almost all artists have, of barely making a living from their art.
And on a more personal level, the biggest problem I’ve had is that I have a chronic illness, Endometriosis, and from the age of 30 it started to get worse, and now I have chronic pain almost all month and unbearable pain for a week every month. It is a disease that cannot be cured, largely unknown, unresearched, and not recognised as a permanent disability.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am dedicated to artistic photography, I do projects in which I combine photography and writing, in photobook format. My photobooks deal with universal themes such as gender, power relations, intuitive thinking, empathy, and towards the imagination. In my last photobook published last May, El Volcán Azul (The Blue Volcano), I think I came a bit closer to what imagination in literature can be, bringing it into my field of writing and photography together.
I think what I’m most proud of is having self-published 7 books without the support of a publisher, and investing for them out of my own pocket. And that I’m still looking forward to making photos and projects and books in the future.
Pricing:
- El Volcán Azul (The blue volcano) Photobook 22USD , plus shipping costs
- La Tercera Person (The third person) Photobook 28 USD, plus shipping costs
- Lucero, Photobook 22 USD , plus shipping cost
- You can also buy any prints. For price and size you can contact me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://iciarvegadeseoane.com
- Instagram: @iciarvegadeseoane
