María Primo develops a research-based artistic practice focused on contemporary art and photography, deep ecology and sustainability. Photography is the main tool of her work, from which her projects evolve through continuous experimentation into multidisciplinary practices that incorporate video, sound and other media.
Her practice also engages with traditional technologies and slower processes as a form of resistance to the speed of contemporary life and to advocate for the use and knowledge of craftsmanship, allowing space for the local, the intuitive and the uncontrollable. This approach has led her to work with techniques such as cyanotypes and other handcrafted processes.
Through her work, she explores the shifting relationships between human, more-than-human beings and their natural environment, the memory embedded in the landscape and its multiple interpretations. Alongside her creative practice, she has developed a set of good practices aimed at minimising the environmental impact of her production processes.
Below is a selection of series created in recent years. All works are available for sale in limited editions. For further information, please contact us to receive a dossier with full technical specifications.
A river is not a river (2021 – 2023)
During an artist residency in Luxor, Egypt, María Primo explored the old Nile’s stories (myths, female pharaohs, treasures, and architecture) to create a multidisciplinary project addressing contemporary ecological issues.
The Book of Sand (2015 – 2020)
The Book of Sand is a multidisciplinary project that tells the story of the Dune of Valdevaqueros (Tarifa, Strait of Gibraltar, Spain) as a metaphor for the absurd will of humanity to dominate nature.
A solar revelation… (2013 – 2016)
A Solar Revelation… (2013–2016) reflects on the necessity of contemplation and in-depth research to unveil the different layers and interpretations of the same landscape.
Roman Basins… Remake after Jeff Wall (2015)
It is another way of looking. The speed of the water that flows uninterruptedly from the pipe reminds us of the passage of time in such an ancient Rome.
The Nest and the Rooster (2014)
Photographs made from recycled film audio tapes.
Invisible Women (2013)
With this series I intend to talk about exotic women, whom we often see from the western world as invisible women, but not so much because they look like it because of their clothes (burka, niqab, etc.), but because we put a veil on the time to see the “other”.
Neovanitas (2008 – 2012)
Series inspired by the baroque vanitas of the 17th century, not so much to remind us of our own death and rebirth, but as a metaphorical demonstration of the expiration of everything we acquire, feel or think about today.
The mirror in your eyes (2008 – 2009)
Travels with the Diana 16mm
Second Chance (2007 – 2008)
I am interested in stories found on the street, at night, when people detach themselves from junk and furniture that have been part of their life and their memory.
2.2 Planets (2007)
The idea of this project is to reflect on the footprint we leave in this world and on the essence of the image.
Consumption = Waste (2006)
Life full of inseparable contrasts: the feminine and the masculine; the light and the dark; the healthy and the insane; beauty and horror; energy and waste; Consciousness and unconsciousness.
The Drying of the Quercus (2006)
One of the best examples of interaction between people and nature is represented by cork oak forests. These forest are unique in the world …
No retornable (2001)
My first personal project, about consumption and garbage. With images taken during a year at the Zambiza landfill, Quito (Ecuador).
Portraits of a New Congo (2016)
In February 2016 I was able to travel to Kinshasa for the first time, invited by the Spanish Embassy for the production of this photo series. Of the few news I managed to find in Western media about the Democratic Republic of the Congo dealt with the horrors of this vast and diverse country and following the trail of Conrad’s hell.
Portraits of a New Yemen (2012)
Result of the residency at the Spanish embassy in Sana’a (Yemen) in May 2016. 22 portraits of Yemeni women and men, of different profiles and backgrounds who work to push their country forward.