‘I Have A Dragon In My Heart’ is the first photography book by Spanish photographer Carlota Guerrero, serving as the perfect coffee table or master bookshelf addition, entailing a plethora of beautiful images collated throughout her career from both her passion and commissioned projects.
Upon opening the photobook, the contents page showcases a charming screenshot of what to expect in the pages ahead. Every inch sized photograph is visually laid out in a scrapbook format, as though ready to be selected to be framed inside a gallery. Guerrero then invites us inside her intriguing mind in the introductory pages as she shares her childhood visions of running naked and free and being at one with nature throughout her journey as an adult, creating an encapsulating gateway for what lays ahead.
Page after page is an alluring and organic image of the female form in all shapes, sizes and skin tones, choreographed and positioned in yoga-like shapes and positions of relaxation either in solitude but majority of the time in unison with other women. This births a sense of wholeness and support with a view that we are all the same and work best when together. Backdrops are usually bare, sometimes in deserted buildings or within the still, serenity of the outdoors. When not completely nude, models are dressed in organic and earth toned fabrics and ensembles, or accessorised in different ways to be physically connected with the next woman.
Tengo un Dragón Dentro del Corazón showcases Guerrero’s evolving style through her self-taught photography skills from her early work, to traveling the world, to now hugely influencing how we visualise women in modern society. Her work reflects a new-age, progressive and body confident vision of a post MeToo feminism where femininity and female sensuality are empowered instead of exploited. Her art is raw, real, strong whilst angelic all at the same time. Carlota Guerrero became more widely recognisable after her collaboration with singer-songwriter Solange Knowles on the artwork and art direction of her 2016 album A Seat at the Table and accompanying music videos. This created a huge buzz around her work and has since collaborated with the poet Rupi Kaur for a live performance, Naomi Shamada, Madonna’s daughter Lola Leon and global brands including Nike, Givenchy, Dior. These commissions also steered her to contributing to magazines such as the New Yorker, Playboy, Vogue Spain, Numero and FADER.
As well as the modern-female gaze, Guerrero thoroughly explores ideas of femininity, gender, nature, human connections, patterns and the Golden Ratio. Her work is often described as subversive and ethereal, classical and distinctly individual. Alongside the 260 powerful photographs, Tengo Un Dragón del Corazón also features texts by some of her collaborative partners including Rosalía, Rupi Kaur, Paloma Lanna, Teticia Sala and Alejandra Smits.
Tengo Un Dragón del Corazón is out now via Prestel Publishing and is available for purchase on carlotaguerrero.com
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Words: Shanna Bent