Jose Marcal Photography.

José Marçal is a Brazilian photographer. His work consists of intimate portraits in which the sitter becomes a metaphor for the photographer's inner world. Straddling between the erotic and the oneiric, the images utilize the body as a space to discuss sexuality, freedom and aesthetic pleasure. Born in the city of Itabuna, in the Brazilian state of Bahia, José moved to Rio de Janeiro as a teenager, where he became a photography lab technician at Agência Foto-in-Cena. After a few trips abroad, he moved  to Berlin, Germany in 2006. In 2012 he completed his studies at the Neue Schule für Fotografie Berlin.

Marçal’s portraits showcase a wide variety of sitters. They pose inside the artist’s studio, interacting with objects, masks and fabric. These interactions instill a surrealist quality to the images, as they frequently add an unsettling element to throw normality off balance. The sitter’s body is often in evidence, but throughout the work, there is a consistent interplay between what is hidden and what is revealed. At times faces are obscured while genitals are shown, and vice-versa. This tension enriches the images with suggestions of desire and sexual pleasure. On the other hand, there is also a nod to academic art, as some statuesque poses elevate the figures to the realm of tradition, distant from earthly pleasures. Influenced by the work of fashion photographers such as Richard Avedon, José’s own experience with editorial photography also comes into the fold, as drapery and garments play a key role in the visual narrative.

Beyond the editorial photoshoot vocabulary, however, José Marçal’s photographs serve as a means of self expression. The sensual quality of the images is an exercise of freedom, the freedom to explore joy and sexuality. In some of the more somber images, shadowy figures and contorted poses might stand in as expressions of hurt, loneliness, or emotional tension. On the other hand, the artist does not shy away from aesthetic pleasure, as colorful effects, the pervasiveness of flowers and the poise of the unclothed subjects create a space to celebrate beauty without shame. The images seem to speak of an inner world, but they also point towards states of being that are universal. The artist’s models, procured via classified ads, are often volunteers with no prior connection to the photographer. José does not seek to produce portraits in the sense that they should reveal something about the sitter, but simply borrows their figure to discuss instead matters that are much broader and closer to the human experience. The nude, in the artist's work, could be seen as an equalizer, a device to represent the timelessness of the self and of humanity. This attempt to resonate with the viewer through shared experiences is deliberate. In every image, there is an effort to lift the sitter out of the mundane and into an aesthetic space that exudes elegance, acceptance, and beauty. The nude, then, becomes a means to communicate.

The bodies in José’s work are metaphors of possible worlds. The camera becomes a vehicle for dreaming and aspiring, and at the same time it serves as a means to address tensions processed through the lens. In any case, José Marçal’s photographs are a product of personal vision. Through his idiosyncratic approach, José Marçal presents a meticulous exploration of his inner world, turned into image so others can partake in the pleasures and struggles of looking inward as well.