We interviewed Wilma Lorenzo "Being with Leiva on tour has been one of the most beautiful experiences"
Wilma Lorenzo (Madrid, 1989) is one of the main photographers of the national music industry.
Iván Ferreiro, Izal, Xoel López, Leiva, Zahara, Quique González, Sidecars... have counted on her to photograph everything that happens before, during and after a concert or recording.
We knocked on his door because his work focuses on music from another prism: that of delicacy and soul through a good image loaded with meaning.
Q.- Where does your love for photography come from?
A.- Since I was little I was interested in photography. I remember that I always asked my parents to buy me disposable cameras for school trips (I say “cameras” because I had two) and that I never came back with photos with my friends, they were always photos of what caught my attention (which could be anything).
I said they were “artistic” but most of them were a disaster. Then it became a hobby: going for a walk with the camera, looking for something that inspired me. And so until today.
Not only as a photographer, but you also work in communication, social networks and management, always linked to music.
Q.-Why this common thread with this sector?
A.- Music, like photography, has always been in my life. From my parents I learned everything I know. They love music and they transmitted that love to me album by album.
Then I flew alone during adolescence and university, naturally getting together with people with whom to share leisure time linked to music.
All that time dedicated to music means that when I started to dedicate myself to journalism, it was the field that interested me the most and that I knew the most about. And little by little I made my way.
Q.- Would you like to work on photography focused on other disciplines? (Example: fashion)
I have occasionally dedicated myself to photojournalism, I have also taken sports photography, still photography and even put the camera into politics for a brief season.
I would love to work in fashion, although taking it to my field and my way of working. In reality, any discipline can be inspiring. Music has been that way until now but I don't rule out other paths and challenges.
I would love to work in fashion, although taking it to my field and my way of working.
Behind you, you have a year and a half of touring with Leiva and his band.
Q.- What is it like to be on tour from an outside perspective/view of the band?
A.- It is one of the most beautiful experiences I have ever had. It helps to understand music from within, from the side of the creator and his “allies”. During the tour with Leiva I understood the magic of life on the road, the family that is created around music and the strength that friendship has on stage.
Now that I am on another tour, with Nil Moliner, I identify similar feelings and at the same time I am seeing how there are new energies due to age, moment and dynamics.
The magic is incredible and it is lucky to be able to join in and capture all those moments.
Precisely (and referring to the gender perspective that we are giving to this series of interviews) you were the only woman on the team.
Q.- Did this mean having to approach work in a different way?
A.- It happens whenever you join a team and you are the only woman. Perhaps more so in a sector like music. One puts on a shell and tries to build walls of coldness at the beginning because experience tells us that acting that way is the best.
Then, as soon as you know the surroundings, you can relax and be yourself. I have been lucky enough to be able to make that click and relax almost instantly because I have not had any problems nor have I felt different from the rest.
They have valued me for my work and have always treated me professionally.
As a result of this tour and all the photographic material generated during it, the book “Let's play together until death screws us” was born.
Q.- How did this project come about?
A.- The book came about by chance. My job on the tour was different but I kept a diary and photographed every moment.
At one point during the tour I showed some of the material to Leiva and he invited me to dare and make a book telling the tour from my perspective.
Q.- What did this book mean to you?
A.- More than anything else, this book means for me to have on paper the memory of almost two wonderful years and to be able to return to them whenever I want. Overall, I'll stick with that.
Continuing with your editorial publications, we need to talk about your latest book: “Lives of Others, Passions of Our Own” where we find photographs full of meaning supported by texts that make us participate in each story.
We could say that in this book you undress completely and let us fully enter your privacy.
Q.- You are a person whose 90% of your time is about photographing others and showing the best profile. Is this the first time you use photography to talk about yourself?
A.- Yes, beyond what I can do on my Instagram account, it is the first time that I dare to show myself instead of others, although I like to think that when I photograph someone or document a tour, I let part of me in it by doing it from my perspective.
In any case 'Other Lives, Own Passions' undoubtedly goes further. Although deep down he used someone else's to tell his own... I think I will never be able to avoid that.
Q.- What was this introspective creative process like?
A.- When I have something on my mind, my way of letting off steam is to go for a walk with the camera or write.
I have done it all my life, since I was very little, always without any intention of showing it.
My Lunwerg editor, Javier, years ago - even before the previous book - asked me if I had texts and photos that were not about music.
I guess it. And it was he who pushed me to share something that I had locked away.
Later, the process of creating the book was to pair texts with images, and it was nice to discover that both coincided in time, that the texts from a certain time fit with the photographs from that same moment.
The ultimate objective is to express a feeling or sensation through image and text, which together form a whole.
Q.- What is the feeling of publishing a part of yourself knowing that you are going to submit to popular judgment?
A.- I was on the verge of backing out several times, to be honest, but in the end I said to myself: "As long as you are satisfied and in a few years when you get it you continue to recognize yourself, everything will be fine."
With this book I understood well what an artist undergoes when he shares his work and the fragility he feels.
I have also experienced the opposite, the satisfaction of receiving a message from someone who thanks you for your words and sees themselves reflected in something of yours. That is priceless.
The satisfaction of receiving a message from someone who thanks you for your words and is reflected in something of yours. That is priceless.
This pandemic period has also fully affected the music industry.
Q.- What has confinement and this more static period meant for you?
A.- Confinement and everything that has come after, for me has meant realizing how much I like my job.
I enjoy every photo, interview or trip day more than ever. I have recovered the enthusiasm of the beginning because I have understood how lucky I am doing what I like.
I have also been aware of how unstable my work life can be and I would be lying if I didn't say that there have been moments of “hating myself” for not having a normal job, but after that pessimistic moment and now that I am more active, I definitely go out of this situation, in love with my work more than ever and wanting to do the rest.
Q.- Many have taken the opportunity to give a new focus to their work, start other projects... is this your case?
A.- Beyond making my online store once and for all (I haven't done it in years), the truth is that no. Maybe because just before the pandemic I already did that exercise of thinking about what I want my day to day to be like and what I want to achieve.
I started that vital project just a year ago (visionary!) and I hope to be able to finish it when everything improves, so far it's going well :)
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