{"id":17241,"date":"2018-01-30T11:00:28","date_gmt":"2018-01-30T11:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/about.35.197.208.187.nip.io\/?p=17241"},"modified":"2025-07-17T09:22:24","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T09:22:24","slug":"meet-diogo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zealous.co\/about\/spotlights\/meet-diogo\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Diogo Duarte"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a>
Pink!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Hi Diogo! You define yourself as an \u201cImage Maker\u201d. How does this differ from a traditional photographer or fine artist?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a way, I think that by defining myself as a photographer I\u2019d imply that I create images only using a camera, which is only partly true. I use other tools to create images so the word \u2018photographer\u2019 falls short of it, also because a lot of the time (particularly when I\u2019m creating self-portraits) I\u2019m not even the person pressing the shutter so by definition I\u2019m not the photographer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Image Maker felt like a good choice of words as it defines better what I do: orchestrating images and imagining scenes; the process of obtaining those images is not so relevant to me. As to the fine artist bit, well, I think it\u2019s a bit broad so when I use \u2018Image Maker\u2019 at least people know I make images, as opposed to sculpture or other mediums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Unconscious Commands and Judgements of our Century<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Your background is in mental health and bereavement. How does this influence your creativity?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In every way you can imagine to be honest. My professional background is in mental health but my entire outlook on life has been affected by first-hand experience of anxiety from a very early age which has stayed with me to this day. It doesn\u2019t define me but it\u2019s part of who I am so it\u2019s only natural that a lot of the themes I explore in my art revolve around this, or aspects of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, working in the field is also incredibly inspiring, even if emotionally demanding, as I am constantly in touch with other people\u2019s inner worlds; listening to someone\u2019s story and being a witness of their honest feelings is very powerful and stimulating of my imagination. I really don\u2019t think I could work in the field, or be sane for that matter, if I didn\u2019t have my camera to use as a vehicle to escape or process what I deal with on a daily basis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your PhotoBard series captures the most incredible, intimate aspects of a person\u2019s personality. When capturing portraiture, how involved are you with directing your subjects?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you! I don\u2019t direct them very much in the traditional sense of the word. On set, I can give them some direction but that direction is mostly an attempt at getting the subject to \u2018connect\u2019 with whatever experience, feelings, emotions or thoughts their portrait is portraying. For me, psychological portraiture is about the subject\u2019s personality and identity being captured on camera so I really need to be guided by them on set, not the other way around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Unconscious Commands and Judgements of our Century<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Have you always been drawn to photography? How did your creative journey start?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always remember being involved in something or other that was creative. I was really interested in slap-stick comedy when I was a child so my earliest memory of something like this is of creating characters and acting them out. I then dabbled with writing, dance and who knows what else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography didn\u2019t come about for me until my teens when I started using it to escape the world when I was having a hard time. I gave it up when I got a \u2018real\u2019 job and then picked it up some years ago again when the need to escape arose again. Photography for me is about bending reality and a chance to look at things in a different way so it makes for a perfect escape route, even though in the process of escaping you end up facing things anyway! Now it seems to just have stuck around\u2026let\u2019s see!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there anything you\u2019re afraid of as an artist? How do you overcome that fear?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course; probably too many things to write them all down. If I had to choose the top two I\u2019d probably say I\u2019m afraid of losing perspective and repeating myself in non-original ways. And then, of course, there\u2019s the fear of failing to connect with others. I always hope that people will look at my work and connect at some level and take something from it, even if it\u2019s not something pleasant. Art for me is about dialogue, either with myself or with the world. Failing to do either isn\u2019t something I\u2019d be proud of!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
\u6065 (shame)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You moved to London in 2007. How important has the city\u2019s art community been in your development?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s been really quite important. I didn\u2019t grow up in a community that particularly appreciated art and it definitely wasn\u2019t part of every day conversations. So when I came to London it felt like a door had been flung open and I suddenly found myself surrounded by people and places that facilitated those conversations. London is unpredictable and so are its people and I absolutely love that; I love the fact opportunity exists in this city and you never know who you might meet. I\u2019ve met some incredible artists over here that I feel definitely pushed me to create more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What do you have planned for 2018?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been working on a few new personal projects that delve into personas and exploring my own. Even though I\u2019ve created a good amount of characters to articulate my own self in previous projects, I had never really looked into Personas as the psychoanalyst Carl Jung defined them \u2013 as social masks. I\u2019m very fascinated by the masks we all wear these days probably because I\u2019ve recently become semi obsessed with people\u2019s Instagram accounts and wondering how much is persona and how much is real, including my own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My new project \u2018Pink!\u2019 is my attempt to explore and document the social mask I wear when in contexts where I feel I have to adhere to stereotypical views of gay masculinity. Being gay has allowed me to break free from previously held beliefs about being a man; it gave me the freedom to cry, to wear high heels if I want to and generally express myself outside of traditional masculinity. Somehow, however, I still think that the \u2018macho\u2019, \u2018tough\u2019 and especially \u2018hunky\u2019 looking guy is still very much appreciated in the gay community, especially when it comes to sex. If you don\u2019t look hunky, you\u2019re not sexually attractive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In \u2018Pink!\u2019 I try to deconstruct that tough, hyper sexualised persona I put on in real life to see who lies behind it. When I finished the project and looked at myself I became very aware of the ridicule of it all; I\u2019m not that tough hunky guy, so why do I put it on? That\u2019s what I tried to do with these images; start a dialogue with other people about why we project something we are not \u2013 always in detriment of our true selves, which somehow we\u2019ve come to believe is not good enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Pink!\u2019 will be on display at FLUX Exhibition 2018<\/a> at the Royal College of Arts from 11-15th April.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pink!<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n

Want us to write more content like this? Give it a like<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n\t\t