10 Questions with Daniela Castillo

Daniela Castillo (she/her) is a photographer and graphic designer based in Lima, Peru. She specializes in landscapes and still life. Aside from photography and graphic design, Daniela is interested in learning different languages and forms of art through self-education. She believes languages are a bridge to connect with people and learn from them.

Daniela received her bachelor's in Communication from the Universidad de Lima in 2020. She is currently working as a Project Manager and freelancing as a graphic designer. As an artist who cares about mental health, she wants the viewer to reflect on this issue and realize its importance to society.

extensioninterior.com | @dancastillo_a

Extension Interior | Project Description

On March 16, 2020, in Peru, mandatory social isolation came into force as a measure to counteract the infections caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The confinement to which all Peruvians were subjected revealed the different problems they faced as a country, which led to a crisis. One of them was the health crisis. And within it, mental health.

"Extension Interior" emerges as a reinterpretation of internal reality in this context. With the mind as the protagonist, this project seeks to capture the deterioration of the mental state resulting from confinement through projections that question the limits between fiction and reality.

24ParallelWorlds, Digital photography, 2000x1333 px, 2022 © Daniela Castillo

INTERVIEW

First of all, introduce yourself to our readers. What is your background, and why did you decide to be an artist in the first place?

Hello to all the readers! My name is Daniela Castillo, but people call me Dan or Dani. I'm a Peruvian photographer and graphic designer. I studied communications. It was in my career that I discovered the world of photography. I had to take a mandatory introductory photography course and fell in love with the medium. After that, I wanted to keep learning, so I enrolled in all photography classes available. That's pretty much how I started working on personal and artistic projects.

What is your aim as an artist?

To tell stories. I like to focus on building narratives when I'm working on a project. But I am aware that this narrative is not complete without the viewer. When people engage with art, they have their thoughts and opinions that give different meanings to the piece of art they are watching. I like having the possibility that a single project can have different interpretations because it is an experience that starts with subjectivity but can be transformed into something collective.

15SocialDistancing, Digital photography, 2000x1333 px, 2022 © Daniela Castillo

29FollowTheLight, Digital photography, 2000x1333 px, 2022 © Daniela Castillo

You studied communication and currently work as a graphic designer. How would you define yourself as an artist? And how did this definition change over the years?

I didn't consider myself an artist at first. I thought that only people that studied professional art mediums careers were worthy of that definition. However, the more time passed, the more I realized that artists were the ones who created art in any medium. And I was creating art and trying to use photography or filmmaking to express myself, so that made me an artist.

Let's talk about your series, "Extension Interior." What are the main ideas behind this series, and what messages were you trying to convey?

A couple of years ago, I wanted to create a series with mental health as the central theme. I was, and still am, interested in the topic, mainly because of its relevance to our society. When the pandemic started, I knew that I was going to work based on that. The main message was that, as hard as something can be, as humans, we can overcome it. Also, I didn't want to romanticize mental illnesses; my purpose was to use photography to express the negative feelings or sensations that are associated with them.

6DrownInAGlassOfWater, Digital Photography, 1333x2000 px, 2022 © Daniela Castillo

What was the most challenging part of your project?

Developing the project during the pandemic. It took me out of my comfort zone for many reasons. In my previous works, I used natural light as my main source of lightning. But with this project, I couldn't do that. Using a projector was a creative way to use light and helped me build an atmosphere. There were a lot of trials and errors during that process. Personally, it was difficult emotionally as well. I felt like, when creating the pictures, I had to revisit not only positive emotions but also negative ones.

What do you see as the strengths of this project, both visually and conceptually?

Visually, the use of color. At first, I wasn't sure if I wanted a narrative with a beginning and end. In the process of working with the images, I decided to use color not only to represent different stages of mental illnesses but also as a medium of transition for each image and to represent a 360° journey. Conceptually, the metaphor of the mind. I didn't want the physical places where the images were projected to be entirely recognizable. This helped me build a fictional space that represented the mind. Also, it gave me the freedom to work between real and unreal concepts.

Your experience heavily influences the series during the Covid-19 pandemic. What was one thing you learned during the pandemic? And how did it influence your work?

I learned to be more aware of my thoughts and needs. Before the pandemic, I used to work nonstop almost every day. During mandatory isolation, I had time to pause and reflect. When creating the series, I wanted each photograph to invite reflection and questioning.

28Front-line, Digital photography, 2000x1333 px, 2022 © Daniela Castillo

And what are your thoughts on digital presentations and online exhibitions? Do you think they are here to stay, or do you already see a return to in-person presentations only?

The pandemic has changed a lot of things. Digital and online exhibitions are just one of a few. I think they are here to stay, not necessarily as the norm, but as another way to show your work to the world. A lot of artists can benefit from the possibilities that the digital world has to offer. You can even have in-person presentations, along with digital ones, to enrich your project. I would like the artists and the viewers to be open about the new ways to portray art.

What are you working on now? Do you have any new projects or series you are working on?

I'm starting to plan a new project. So I'm gathering all of the possible ideas before I start shooting. The only thing I'm sure about is that this new project is gonna be outside and with natural lighting. I really miss taking pictures of landscapes, nature, and just everyday life.

Finally, what are your plans for the rest of 2022 and for the future in general?

I want to keep learning about photography and graphic design. In the future, I would love to work on a project with analog photography because I haven't tried it yet. I would also like to try to combine different mediums, such as photography, painting, and maybe embroidery on a photo book.

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