Silence

Artwork Info

• Year: 2014
• Medium: Photo Manipulation
• Style: Surreal Illustration
• Size:  60×40 inches (152×100 cms).

“Silence” is a surreal illustration created by using matte painting techniques in Adobe Photoshop.  Originally shot in exteriors at La Granja de Segovia (Spain).

Artist’s statement

silence /ˈsʌɪləns/ noun

1. absense of any sound or noise; stillness.
2. the state or fact of being silent; muteness.

I wanted to create a metaphor about silence as I’m not used to silence itself (I live in a big city and I’m a noisy person as well). As something unfamiliar for me, I had to use a main subject that meant “sound” and then change its context to resignify it

The scene shows a cello in the middle of a forest being hugged by two mysterious arms from behind, embracing the concept of melancholy about an instrument that doesn’t sound anymore. The forest is the quintessential place where silence can be found, as noise reigns supreme in our urban environments. By mixing loneliness, golden lighting and a visible passing of time (depicted by the plants, vines and spiderwebs growing throughtout the cello) I was able to create a scene that shows silence because of the abscence of noise.

The end result is a peaceful surreal illustration, with calming but luxurius colors, static composition and glowing atmosphere that makes the environment look like if it was taken from a dream. It emanates a powerful feeling of tranquility from its gold and lavender color palette, but at the same time its brings a new enigma to the viewer to resolve: “What happened here?”. It has the power to change the space it’s in and also to bring up the conversation.