Alberto Pelayo French Fries interview

Interview: Natasha Peñuelas

The creation of images through software and photography fuses with the contamination of techniques. The symbiosis of 3D and a human’s DNA takes place in Alberto Pelayo’s creative process and the absence of physics, gravity and ending in his endeavors. The curation of art, fashion and media as a singular torch to light up the path of Pelayo, warranting him to find his sanctuary in the midst of his discovery. Along the way, he nurses with the nuances of mistakes, pitfalls, surrealism, vulgarity and strangeness. He crafts utopia and dystopia far from reality, admires his mother as an epitome of self-trust, and turns to social media to drive his creations from their foundation to their stardom. In this French Fries exclusive, Alberto Pelayo dangles over the fantasy of his memory and mind and how it twists and turns to his benefit, demonstrating his DNA and his definition of vulnerability.

Who is Alberto Pelayo, how do you describe yourself?

I’m a Mexican creative and product designer. I would describe myself as an image maker. I use photography and software as tools to create imaginary scenarios, characters and situations.

Would you say that your passion for photography and 3D art is in your DNA?

My DNA is based on alteration of reality and contamination between software techniques and photography; I use 3D to achieve my purpose of fantasy. When I was at University, I was doing 3D modeling and rendering for my school projects; then I discovered that in the 3D world there are no rules about physics, gravity, sense or ending and the fact of being able to define every single aspect and create whatever I want excites me a lot. One day, about 3 years ago, when I was so confused about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I started experimenting mixing my 3 passions and putting all them together: 3D, shoes and photography; they became one single thing.

How did you become interested in the creative world?

Since I was a kid, I have always been interested in arts, media and fashion. I was always drawing. I remember me trying to make everything as innovative and creative as possible. Let‘s say that expressing myself was a necessity. In your work we can appreciate that you have a special interest in shoes, what makes you feel attracted to footwear? For me the shoes are the main items that help me understand someone; in my opinion, they are responsible for the vibe of the look. Shoes are like sensual mini sculptures, they can be almost architectonic; I feel like an ingegnere but without numbers when I work with shoes. Furthermore, I believe footwear is the perfect balance between fashion, product design and art; therefore, I also feel like a plastic artist with mud. When I’m modeling shoes in 3D, I ignore all the rules of functionality, I just use the conception of the shape to make a new form with a concept behind. Where do you find inspiration? Mostly in the ugly things, mistakes, surrealism, absurdity, bizarreness and vulgarity. It depends on how I feel and what I want to do.

What makes you different from others?

I can say that what I like the most is creating situations and places that don’t exist in what we understand as the real world. Nothing is different from what others do until the moment in which what I‘m doing is sincere and reflects my aesthetic purposes, feeding my hunger of curiosity for new languages, stories, places, situations and characters.

How is the new normality for you as a photographer and 3D artist?

The “new normality” for me is not a clear concept because I am always adapting and evolving myself. I have never had a normality; I rather live my life experiencing the feelings of the different situations and taking advantage of them. Our work and world is mutating all the time, so in my way of working there has never been a regular normality.

Who do you admire?

I admire my mother, she has always been an example of evolution and growth for me. She taught me that I can be whoever I desire, to dream, to trust and love myself. To fight for what I want and to work hard for it.

How important is social media for you?

What would your job be like without the Internet? Social media is super important for me; I discover other realities through it; then, it is a platform where to show my work, a perfect place for research and contacts. Without the internet probably I would have found other places to do the same thing that I’m doing now with SM, since I’m a very curious and tenacious person; surely I would have found a solution to show my work. I like to think that if there wasn‘t SM as we know it, there would have been for sure another thing instead.

Who would you love to work with in the future? Creatives: Demna Gvasalia, Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons. Model: Kristen McMenamy.

What does vulnerability mean to you?

Once, Vulnerability was for me showing myself as I was, I used to be the most insecure guy. Now I’m taking my experiences from the past as inspiration for all my work. Now I’m a totally different person and I have another approach towards myself and the world. For example: when I was a kid, I hated my feet so I was always covering them; I started thinking about shoes since I was super young because I wanted to hide my feet. I felt ugly and alone so I started creating “fantasies” where I was happy. Now I take all the things for which I suffered and transform them into images and perceived reality. I think reality doesn’t exist; reality for me is like beauty, all depends from the eyes that are looking at it. I think we are a projection of something bigger that is inside us and out of us, out there in the universe, for this reason I can create whatever I want in my work and make everything possible. I created another reality to survive when I was 10 years old and now I’m projecting those realities in vivid images.

What’s next for Alberto Pelayo? Tell us about future projects, how do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

I’m about to shoot a story that I have been thinking about for a year; I’m really excited because the team is really good and for the first time I’m going to shoot a famous model. It‘s a new thing for me in a certain way, because shooting famous people is something I never had in mind; for me, it has always been about shooting stories, emotions, situations... but I’m excited, maybe I’m doing well at my work! In 5 years I see myself shooting and making images and craziest content for the one who will be Balenciaga by that point. I want to be crazy, I want to be innovative and I want to be happy by doing what I love the most: making images.