Sophia Pega
As mid-summer approaches we start to see lockdown ease all over the world. Filly, we start to see a light at the end of the tunnel and are able to pu our creative plans ito action. With a litle help fom our Barcelona based fiend and photographer Alice Odell Hunt, our first call is the painter and illustrator Sophia Pega whos surreal dream like paintings and captivating aesthetic caught our eye.
I was born in Menorca in 1990, I grew up in a farm in the deep countryside of the island. We were a lot of brothers and sisters living together and we spent most of our time playing around the woods and inventing games with whatever we had on hand, we made wood swaords, little marés sculptures, costumes for our dolls... it was a very creative and crafty time. I think I still keep this joy of making things up with my hands.
I also remember spending hours and hours drawing with my mum, she is also an artist and she was -and still is- constantly researching new ways of having fun with art, I guess that got me because I’ve never stopped painting.
“ Thie lest year I'm focusing on making Figurative and symbolic paintings that tell stories about my life, and I use my photes as a source of inspiration."
I paint and draw above all, but I also find pleasure taking still life photography, interiors and working with ceramics. This last year I’m focusing on making figurative and symbolic paintings that tell stories about my life, I use my photos as a source of inspiration and I feel most comfortable painting with acrylics, oils and gouache- both on paper and on canvas. I also love using charcoal and crayons when drawing. No matter which technique or format I use, somehow my work always end up acquiring a romantic and dreamy aura.
My latest work is all based on the idea of capturing memories from the past and experiences from the present in an attempt to document part of my life. I keep a non-daily diary where I write about my childhood, my night dreams and my current thought and feelings, and I’m also constantly taking pictures of what surrounds me. I use this as my primal source of inspiration to create still life’s where every object has its meaning and they all moment of existence.
"somehow I managed to enjoy bad and good moments and having time to think, feel and just be."
In October I decided to move to the flat I’m currently living in, in the district of Gracia, to live alone and have the studio at home, so I’ve been spending a lot of time with myself since then and in a way the quarantine wasn’t so different from what I was used to. I terribly missed my friends and family, I had a lot of insomnia and it was hard to concentrate on work, but somehow I managed to enjoy bad and good moments and having time to think, feel and just be.
After the lockdown finished I started teaching again at the university and now I’m waiting for the course to end to go home with my family in Menorca, where I will also meet some of my BFFs! I can’t wait to be all together and share time in nature
I just got my first bicycle in the city after living here for 12 years, it’s an old French white and yellow road bike that weighs nothing . I'm really enjoying riding her along the coast with my friends and spending Sundays at the beach with them. We wake up early, pedal for an hour and relax on the sand until we are sunburned and need to go back home. I think after being locked down for so long fresh air and the sea are the things I most value at the moment.
I try to live always listening to what the voice inside me has to say, she has been a good guider so far and I learned to trust her. She speaks about the importance of following your impulses, makes you think about things like the feeling of freedom than nature can give you, and talks about the beauty of art and creation, about love, empathy, caring,veganism, patience, calm and enjoyment.
Renli Su Girl Sophia Pega
Photographer: Alice Odell Hunt
Producer: Nina Scott-Smith