Marta Soul. ‘Scenes from the surreal’

14 December 2024 → 22 February 2025

Throughout his long career, Marta Soul (Madrid, 1973) has carried out numerous projects in which the construction of the scene-image serves to show his concerns and invite us as spectators to reflect. It is an essential and differentiating characteristic that gives his work an unmistakable personality, especially within the Spanish scene.

In the latest of her projects ‘Scenes from the surreal’ which we present in Planta1 , the artist remains faithful to the constants that have made her stand out formally and ideologically from other artists of her generation. The construction of the narrative scene, carefully prepared down to the last detail, is dominated by a protagonist, who observes this time with an expressive and natural gesture the behaviour of the man who accompanies her. This mise-en-scène achieves a strange effect that invites us to reflect on some of the usual male behaviours.

Además de esto, Marta, inteligentemente, nos da pistas a través de los títulos de sus piezas, de lo que sucede en el momento que refleja cada una de las nueve fotografías que componen esta exposición. Profundizar en ellas ya forma parte de nuestro trabajo como espectador.

Marta Soul (Madrid,1973) 

The careful visual reflections of the artist Marta Soul provoke social narratives through a process of creating scenes, constructed in collaboration with various specialists. In her work she explores questions about social stereotypes, the representation of emotions, gender or the aesthetics of appearances.

Marta Soul was one of the founders of the collective NOPHOTO (2005). In 2020 she created the platform Cómo ser Fotógrafa with the aim of making the artistic work of contemporary Spanish and Latin American women photographers visible. She has participated in international projects curating artist residencies in Spain and Latin America (e.g. Lugares de Tránsito 2009-2012, Huéspedes del Presente 2014 and Transvisiones 2015) and has also been part of the advisory committee for international photography festivals (e.g. Guatephoto and PhotoEspaña). Her curatorial projects are characterised by the display of artistic work from a cooperative cultural base, and the interest in the creative process over the results obtained.