Interview with Seigar

Art by Melissa Rodriguez

This month I had the delight of corresponding with the artist, Seigar, for Humankind Zine. I was excited at the chance to gather questions for an artist as well-rounded, and individual as they are. Seigar is a social documentarian with a keen emphasis on street and travel photography. Aside from being an artist, Seigar is an educator and philologist, both disciplines are devoted to the power of language, communication, and expression. Seigar’s art is a vast, yet niche exploration of pop culture’s infinite impact on us everyday, working-class people. They claim “pop culture has saved our lives”, insisting on the freedom gained from being your truest, most authentic self. These versions of ourselves are always inspired by something, or someone bigger. We here at Humankind Zine find absolute beauty in this sentiment. The power of truth and inspiration cannot be matched.

Seigar is partial to salty over sweet; likely to have some nuts close by for snacking on. A true lover of horror movies, if caught inside on a rainy day, you can catch the video artist watching something classically horrific like Almodovar or Hitchcock. You can find Seiger on Instagram and his page is full of captivating and intriguing portraits, along with digital collages reflecting his investigations into pop and LGBTQIA+ culture, fashion, music, and media. His website is an impressive showcase of range; being published in both written and visual media. Seigar is an intriguing writer and you get a real taste of the intention behind the art by reading the gracious responses to the questions I had. Catch the tea from our emails below. Enjoy!

Tessa Martinez: Would you mind telling us a bit about yourself? Where are you from? I know that’s a pretty cliche ice breaker, but who is Seigar?

Seigar: I was brought up in La Palma, in the Canary Islands and I feel proud of that. I love its unique traditions, culture, and the beauty of its landscapes; we have black sand beaches, green mountains, volcanoes, and cute villages. It’s called La Isla Bonita, like Madonna's song. I remember spending all my summers as a teenager at the beach or camping in the National park. Then I studied my university degree in Tenerife, and that is where I’m based, work, and create. Seigar has become my way to express myself in a creative way, it helps me to release my feelings, emotions, thoughts, and also fight for the causes I believe in: telling real stories. The most positive thing I have experienced making art is the fact that I have been able to meet lots of people: artists, models, designers, drag queens, dancers, painters, photographers, urban tribes, magazine teams, curators, gallery managers, and also many authentic people who have allowed me to share their stories with the world.

T: What is something, anything you’ve learned about storytelling through your studies as a philologist?

S: As a philologist and as a teacher, I have learned that communication is the key. I’m into direct messages, I apply this to my art creations, I want the idea to be easily identified. If I want to move people, I think people don’t need second guesses. You can play with meanings, twists, layers, contradictions, irony, and at the same time convey a clear idea.

T: How have you maintained creative momentum during the pandemic?

S: During the strictest confinement conditions in Spain, I edited content from my previous trips that I hadn’t finished yet. It was my refuge to check these images, edit and group them into a series. This visual escape helped me to survive. Then, as soon as I felt inspired I started creating new material. I made a series online, through video chat. That was a challenging task from a technical point of view, and again, I was doing concept art. I made a series with Lupe Castro, a fashion expert and content creator. [I worked on] Another series entitled, “Guys with a mask”, that featured men with and without the masks, reaching to reflect the beauty before and after. As soon as I was allowed to leave home, I took my camera with me, and I have been creating since then. I’ve traveled to other islands and have been creating a social documentary series with trans people and drag queens. I have also started doing event photography: concerts, contemporary dance, and so on. But collage and video art have been my main companions in this weird time.

Lately, I have created a collage series about Childhood, Food, Identity, Ageism, and I’m working on one about Time and Rituals. This summer, I have been in the Czech Republic and Albany. Now I'm traveling in Italy, working on “Tales of”, my street photography series.

T: What do you think makes pop culture so important, especially for artists?

S: Pop culture has saved our lives. I value all the joy and other different emotions we feel with it. I love Michael Jackson, Madonna, and Prince, they are the perfect examples of pop music icons. With respect to art, I’m into Dalí, Picasso, Frida Kahlo, and Warhol. I’m constantly doing pop-culture-themed lists: my fave albums, my fave songs, my fave films, my fave series, I do them every year. I like to keep myself updated about the last pop icons movements, for instance, I’m loving Rosalía, Billie Eilish, Lil Nas X, and C. Tangana. I enjoy the Drag Queen shows, I’m a RuPaul fan, I think drag is a form of art that allows to show and twist reality. I think pop culture is my main source of inspiration. Pop is simple, direct, clear, effective, and is full of messages and ideas.

T: I read your list of inspiring documentaries you recommended in an article for Dodho Magazine. I was inspired by how they are centered around owning ones queer, artistic, and gender identities in an unfair and complex culture. How does making art, and learning from other’s art, help you heal wounds life as inflicted upon you?

S: I admire unique and strong personalities, people who don’t mind raising their voices and express their opinions, even though others don’t agree. I think artists have the responsibility to speak up and create art that moves others. Art is political. For example, Garbage has released a very political album, and is my favorite this year so far! I want my conceptual approach to make people see there are different ways to perceive a story. As a gay person, I have experienced discrimination myself, so I can also relate to that common fight for respect and acceptance. The social documentary approach helps me to tell people’s stories, always embodying empathy. I believe empathy is the only way to fight injustice. I feel it’s important to know different realities. When people get to know something they stop fearing, so they don’t hate. It’s the revolution of love.

T: What are some of the projects you have done nearest and dearest to your heart?

S: I have worked three times within a project entitled,“1 2 3 No Hashtags”. In the first part, I presented a yearbook page as a symbol of the triumph and success in being different and diverse, all the women included had felt discrimination because of different issues such as age, body image, sexual orientation, gender, or identity. In the second part, I created, “Guilty”, police photographs with some men who have also suffered discrimination as a metaphor that society punishes differences instead of appreciating them. In the third part, I presented women in a natural pool as, “Beautiful Creatures”, to reflect love and self esteem. I’m very proud and thankful to this project.

I must mention My project, “Plastic People”, is an ongoing long-term work with the shop windows, it has become my trademark and my most important and serious project so far. “Tales of a City” is the title of my street photography series, I especially feel connected to the London ones. Recently, I have been working with Candy Porcelain, an amazing drag queen that is able to channel their creative ideas. Finally, my project called, “Nature Guy”, explores the concept of new masculinities, showing guys connecting to nature far from the standards of the typical male image.

T: What inspired you to move into video art?

S: I think video art is a medium that lets me be free, far from rules, more into ideas, messages, feelings, and emotions! It’s totally my thing! It’s also more complex and more challenging than photography. It motivates me to create and show my views about the world. I can also work with other creative people, and the energy that this involves excites me. I like telling stories. I understand that my works are narratives, so video art is my new storytelling format. I enjoy filming, and also making all the decisions editing the video art pieces. The most important thing for me is the concept even more than the art piece itself.

T: You are multi-talented, multi-disciplinary... but do you have a favorite medium of expression?

S: I have more experience with photography. I suppose that from a technical point of view it's the medium I can control the most. From a creative perspective, I feel collage and video art gives me the most freedom to express myself. There are less restrictions, or at least I have less limits when doing them. I think in any form I create conceptual art. I would say lately these forms are motivating me more than photography. I want to try installations soon! I already have some ideas. I also love writing, I write for some different magazines about pop culture and this is quite inspiring.

T: What inspires you to get out on the street every day with your camera?

S: Street photography was my first approach to art, and I have always connected this discipline with conceptual art. I consider myself a visual artist because I create using different media, but street photos were the beginning. It was my training. The most inspiring things in life for me are traveling and photography. There is nothing more exciting than visiting a place for the first time and I enjoy it much more with a camera, I like to see the world through the camera lens, moving around, testing different angles to portray reality in an attractive manner.

I’m a visual person, and I love observing all around me when I’m in the streets. From street portraits to the shop windows, there is always something going on. I personally enjoy markets and the busy shopping streets. Going for walks with my camera is always more inviting than just walking. It’s a plus. Reflections, geometry, and saturated colors have been constant elements within my street photography, I use them as pop effects to make my images really talk.

You can explore Seigar’s art on his website, Flickr, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.