Body: (1) Everything that occupies space and constitutes an organic or inorganic unit.
It can also be seen as a vehicle for something: it takes us from one place to another, it allows us to move.
Fur: (1) [Anatomy] Membrane that forms the outer surface of the body of animals.
«The body needs skin to exist and the skin needs a body to exist.
I prefer to think of the skin as something deeper and even poetic than just an external surface. It is the vehicle that allows us direct contact with the other.
The body allows us closeness. The skin allows contact. Privacy. Through the skin, we have access to smells, texture, touch. As if, with all these variables, it prompted us to immerse ourselves in this immensity of things that the skin brings us ».
— Marisa Benardes
Although Marisa Benardes lives in the wonderful city of Lisbon, was born in Luxembourg 28 years ago.
He does not remember the exact moment in which the photograph appeared in his life, but he does remember that the self-portraits did not yet have names and that the names did not exist either. selfies.
«If it's what you like, do it», were the words he needed to hear from his mother to decide to study photography. There began the journey towards self-knowledge: Marisa uses the images as therapy.
She began to discover beauty in things she didn't like so much before and, above all, to establish a deep connection between her body and intimacy. This same link is what allows you, in turn, to connect with others.
«For me, intimacy is a connection that two or more people can have by feeling something that can bring them together, often something that is not perceived or physical. Nothing to do with the more superficial or sexual side, but on a deeper level», explains Marisa.
You need to feel close to the person you are photographing, which is why most of your work is autobiographical.
As the good introvert that she is, she prefers to express herself with images rather than words.
This is how she seeks beauty and acceptance through the body and skin as vehicles to something greater that is within all of us.
You can see all the work he has done for Nasei in a special series on his web.