“I like to think of my illustrations as a posed photo that was shot while the model was distracted, wondering if they had turned off the lights when they left the house earlier.”
WORDS BY THE AUTHOR / As time passes by, I have realized that I have the same ability to centre on one task I had when I was a teenager. Which is none. My illustration work reflects this uneasy feeling of being absent. When your body is almost in an “auto” mode and, after 20 minutes of daydreaming, you find yourself sitting in the weirdest position. And the physical discomfort or even pain that comes with this disconnection. Connecting brain numbness with this tingling feeling that you get when you sit over your legs.
These [illustration] pieces are very defined by these kinds of unnatural positions and shapes. The lack of consciousness and interactions between the inner self and the body. The bodies are uncanny and deformed, bending their physical possibilities, but bearing no (or very little) facial expression. This self-exploration, movements, and poses come from the observation of people in transitional spaces. I live in the suburbs of Madrid so I have spent enormous amounts of time in places like this. Waiting for a bus for 30 minutes or taking the train for an hour. I believe this is one of the best places to observe people being absent. Being bored in a limbo, in a place in-between places while your butt has fallen asleep.
Martha’s thoughts on repurposing and reusing in general / This is something that applies to my lifestyle. For me (and for most of our younger generations) this is a source of anxiety and stress but also creativity in how to turn tables on learned behaviors that aren’t suitable for a longer stay on this planet (see: fast fashion, fast food, fast-anything) and its consequent re-adaptation process. But nowadays, my creative work isn’t defined by this idea. Years ago, I have made some exhibitions where most of the physical pieces were found objects and materials. Right now, my ways to create are purely digital.
BIO / Marta Moya is a digital designer, illustrator, brand developer, and an explorer of mixed media. Working since 2012 between different teams and collectives, her projects have been switching from purely UI design to live mural painting, animations, and screenprinting. Some of Moya’s favorite things are the uncanny characters of Madrid’s metro and bad menu translations in tourist cafeterias.
