| I took my first photograph at the age of 13, at a time when cameras weren’t as accessible as they are now. My father lent me his old Kodak Retinet for a school field trip. It didn’t have a light meter, so each picture I took was a work of labor and conscious calculation. Then I went to Spain’s National Fine Arts University, where they taught me to distil my vision and see with a new perspective. I’ve never been worried about whether or not I’m talented—for me, the most important things are to keep my eyes open and to capture what I find interesting, even if I don’t understand what I see at the time. I’m always pushing myself to develop new ideas and embark on new projects. | 
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Eugenio Recuenco
Eugenio Recuenco, Strangers in the Night. Courtesy of the artist.I took my first photograph at the age of 13, at a time when cameras weren’t as accessible as they are now. My father lent me his old Kodak Retinet for a school field trip. It didn’t have a light meter, so each picture I took was a work of labor and conscious calculation.
Then I went to Spain’s National Fine Arts University, where they taught me to distil my vision and see with a new perspective. I’ve never been worried about whether or not I’m talented—for me, the most important things are to keep my eyes open and to capture what I find interesting, even if I don’t understand what I see at the time. I’m always pushing myself to develop new ideas and embark on new projects.
In my career as a fashion photographer, I’ve worked with many foreign magazines such as Madame Figaro, Wad, Spoon, Planet, Stern, Zink View, and Vanidad. I’ve also shot campaigns for well-respected labels, both international (Diesel, Nina Ricci) and Spanish (Festina, Custo, Carerra y Carrera).
Three years ago I entered some photographs of mine in a national photo competition, and I was surprised to win the National ABC Award. Apparently, my mother was not the only fan of my photographs. I began exhibiting in national museums such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Reina Sofía in Madrid and the BAC Museum in Barcelona. I also participated in Madrid’s FEM Art Festival and the Cannes Festival, where a photo that I shot for a Playstation campagin won a Gold Lion. I’ve since continued to show in festivals such as PhotoEspaña, Holland’s Naarden Fotofestival, and Art Toronto 2007. This year I will have some pictures of mine exhibited in the Photography Festival of Miami.
Nowadays I’m interested in video art, and I’m trying to introduce myself to the world of video and filmmaking. I’ve been working on videos such as Para Nada, Silk, and Essence, all of which you can see on my Web site.
Many people ask me about my “recent obsession” with fairy tales. I trace this fascination to my discovery that many of our childhood stories are more deviant and interesting than anything we adults tell each other. However, I should make it clear that my references to fairy tales are always distorted, fractured narratives overlaid with my own vision. I enjoy creating characters with all the stories behind them. I’m interested in capturing the concrete moments of an imagined person’s life.
