Las Meninas

While I was working in the workshop one day, playing with the pieces and searching for shapes, I realised that what was emerging between my fingers was a human configuration. I was surprised, because until then I had never consciously tried to give my pieces any familiar form.

But the figure in my hands wanted to grow from the structure of the hips, which I had formed with two old sewing machines. From that point on, I went on to shape the rest of the body using, of course, the same systematic approach I have always employed: no welding and respecting the original form of each piece.

After the hips came the legs, and then the torso. And finally, the head arrived. And then, yes, it became clear to me: my figure was one of the 'meninas' from Velázquez's famous painting.

And then there was no turning back; the rest of the figures from the painting were asking me to form them. Each character required some thought to find their personality and how to reflect it. Here is the result.

All the sculptures are created with sewing machines to form the pelvis and legs. From there, I have developed the rest of the figure's body until I achieved my personal interpretation of each of the characters appearing in the painting.

The search for the pieces that make up the sculptures is part of the construction process, as they came to me through donations or by visiting scrap yards. Often, the origin of the pieces meant that their cleaning process was an important step in determining which part of the body they might represent.

All of this has meant that each of the sculptures in my 'Las Meninas' vision is unique and original. There isn't one that has strictly followed the same process, or is made up of the same pieces in the same place. Each character has been created based on what has inspired me when working on its interpretation.

There are a series of common characteristics in all the characters in my vision of "Las Meninas".

By using the colour gold I have sought to distinguish the social classes of the members of the painting, so that the nobler they were, the more gold appears in my vision of their characters. With the exception of the dog, of course, because those of us who have one know they're the kings of the house!

As I drew closer to the characters, I realised that being a little girl in that environment must have been quite difficult, wanting to play and run around but at the same time having to live in a world of etiquette. That is why I wanted to depict the Infanta in pieces with as little decoration as possible, to make it clear that she was still just a little girl, while at the same time using many ornaments to represent royal etiquette.

Another common feature is the distinctive configuration of the dwarves. As these were people who were looked down upon and considered ugly, I used the simplest, least aesthetic sewing machines to create their figures, with bodies of a shorter height.