Reimagining Possibility: Surreal Art That Transforms the Soul

How are you and where are you as professionals and as humans at this moment in life?

I am Rob Woodcox. I am a photographer, film director and multidisciplinary artist. I grew up in Detroit, USA. It was a very interesting experience to grow up in a city like Detroit. It is certainly one of the most chaotic cities in the USA and it has the least “rules”. You grow up with a feeling that you can do anything in that sense. Later I went to other big cities in the USA and everything seemed more controlled. So when I left the USA and went to other countries that have a more fluid way of existing I was happier. Mexico is one of those countries. I feel they are a little bit more open minded and a little bit more connected in certain ways I really relate to. That is why I am currently living here. I create art at the intersection of a lot of human issues and the environment. My biggest dream is helping people reconnect with the environment and the nature around us in equitable and sustainable ways that allow everybody to enjoy this beautiful planet. This is why I often create in nature because one of the biggest issues we are facing as a society is feeling we are superior to and disconnected from the world we live in. I think there is a strong power in having humans against a natural backdrop that really stays with you and makes you reflect.

Hm… Let me sit with that… Rob that was beautiful. Yes, you are truly a multidisciplinary in so many ways. In Gender, photography, art, film.

My name is Lorenzo Edwards, I am a contemporary ballet dancer and choreographer. I’m from Florida. I started dancing when I was about ten years old doing ballet. I moved to NYC when I was a teenager and then later to Los Angeles where I joined different dance companies.  By that time I was fortunate enough to get into the right Uber pool and meeting Rob. It was certainly a pinnacle moment in my life. I then danced in the Los Angeles Opera, and another two contemporary dance companies, while always modeling through it all that time. That part of my career has really taken off especially after meeting Rob.  Then I got very complacent with LA because I felt I already experienced everything that I needed to experience.  So I left to travel the world for a while and life took me here to Mexico City. Where I’ve found a true deep loving connection with my boyfriend “Pancito”. I have been able to teach contemporary dance and keep modeling. Staying at peace with who I know I am and exploring.

My name is Yaimer Ariza. Everyone calls me Yai. I’m from Cartagena de Indias in Colombia. I was born and raised in La Costa Colombiana. I moved to Los Angeles three years ago to pursue bigger projects and accomplish my dreams in my professional dance career. I also model for fashion brands and try to learn new things. Everything is going well, I am not feeling worried or preoccupied at this particular moment in life. I am living my life and enjoying the dance of it.

I do want to go back to what Rob was saying about the power of having a natural backdrop, when you get to work within nature. In LA I feel I am constantly hearing about disasters, fires, etc. It is almost impossible not to feel like you MUST do something about it. It comes to my head a lot, all the time. The thing is then you suddenly are back to working and teaching and taking classes and then leaving the country. I feel we underestimate the power of working in nature. Working in projects like Rob’s photoshoots are not only opportunities for the audience to have a reminder of where they stand but for us who are inside the universe he creates, inside the photograph. For me, this past photo shoot was a great gift to be again in nature, resetting and connecting.

Thank you so much for your words, Yai. I agree with you Yai we have overstimulation about how our planet and society is depleting in many ways and forms. But I have to be honest when I say that people like you, Yai and Lorenzo, you guys create and commit your life and expression to something that moves people and influences the world into a positive way of cohabiting our world. Your work gets people connected back to their bodies. You are living your purpose as an artist, creator, and as part of nature. I think that is something beautiful to comment on. We all need to take a break and be reminded of nature. But something stronger and more powerful happens when you get to do what you were actually meant to do. People moving and connecting in their bodies is one of the most beautiful things we can invest in. When we are healthy, then we can contribute in a healthier way into our societies. This is literally why I am always surrounded by dancers. Movement, embodiment, all of it is enriching to me.

Lorenzo, as a foreign dancer and choreographer, how do you see dance and movement as an agent of change in the fight for equality, justice and liberation for women in Mexico?

I feel strongly about this because as a dance teacher here in Mexico City, I have a lot of women in my classes. So, to give Mexican women and international women in this city the space to move their bodies and evoke something within their bodies that might be dormant is the most powerful way to liberate and to share. To bring that inner voice and power of these women to the world. Every one of them leaves the class and shares with me how they needed or were looking for this type of experience, which is simply being in a safe space where they can just be and liberate. So, for me, the power of women's voices in Mexico is so strong, naturally, and to awaken it even more and validate that powerful voice is the most extraordinary thing as a collective. And I am just being a movement guide or teacher, these women are reminding themselves of that power themselves.

I think about not only Mexico and not only women, but I sense there is a common issue in humans all over Latin America in general. There is a fear of simply just BEING. People are afraid or ashamed of simply just being themselves. When I travel to teach in Chile, Argentina, even in Colombia I can see and sense the fear. There is still the fear of being queer, the fear of moving whatever way they want to move, the fear of revealing their true self. I think we are all constantly working on it. It is something that little by little will change in our culture and I know that something that helps this process is sharing. If I can show up to my family, friends, and community by being just me, I believe this can generate inspiration for my students when I travel to teach; or the audience that I am performing to when I go on tour. It is crazy because Latinos have so much power. The energy we inherit just by being born there, is insane. We forget about it and we need to remind ourselves of this power. And I also think there is some sort of responsibility if you hold more bravery or freedom than other people in your community. For example, me as a dance teacher who’s Latino, I need to help other people tap into their own power and bravery. Some people sometimes need just a little push. Since I was a child, I have always wanted to be out there exploring, I am enjoying stepping into the unknown. Today my life is full of adventure and I love not knowing what the future holds in the long term as long as I am being present and true to myself.

I truly can relate with what you are saying Yai. When I was a little kid I used to draw maps of the world because I have always wanted to explore the world.

I grew up in Detroit. Detroit is a very interesting place. It is one of the most red lined cities in The United States. They would only sell certain neighbourhoods to different ethnic groups based on racist standards. I remember I grew up in a more white neighbourhood and when I was in second grade I had class with a foreign exchange student and I thought she was the most interesting person in the class. I saw more beauty and radiance in someone different from me — I always have. For me since a young age it has been incredibly bizarre to see a society that is aiming to be all the same. Unique qualities are way more interesting to me. I have always wanted to be in a different environment than the one I was told I should be or labelled as a kid. That really stayed with me until adulthood. I remember my parents wanted me to do a more formal job and I just knew I had to do art. I didn’t know how it was going to work but I knew I had to do it. I moved out when I was seventeen and made my own path.

I grew up in a very conservative closed community filled with expectations and I knew that life was not for me. I remember in the beginning of my career how I would receive messages from Christian people from home acknowledging my bravery for creating a different reality for myself. I guess they saw my journey as a viable path for themselves too, if they ever wanted to create something different than what they grew up in. Believing in yourself and staying true to yourself I believe that alone changes lives. It impacts the community and lifts everyone up. I believe art is that perfect bridge that crosses all barriers, all languages. When you can feel it, you can believe it and eventually create a change inside of you. I think about the homophobic comments some people have written on my posts and I will confront them and ask them: Why do you feel this way? You are speaking to another human being. Why are you coming from a place of such darkness? And some of them will actually change their perspective after having a conversation.

Going back to the original question, Ximena, I think that Mexico is a country that has its challenges and its advantages, like any country in the world. One of the best things this country has is the communal focus. In the USA it is all about independence. Here, even when it is coming from a place of religion or a place of obligation. There is more of a focus on family and community. I truly think this is true about many other Latin countries I have visited. People look each other in the eyes. I think Latin America has the power to change the world with its warmth, with its kindness. People come to Mexico and feel they have been missing out on this extraordinary warmth in society. I think it is one of the reasons why people have been moving here so much. They are experiencing something they haven’t heard before. My hope is that people can embrace the beautiful culture, learn from it, and respect. Rather than just staying in their little bubble. I’ve seen both sides. The only way to be at ease in a culture like Mexico is to learn, adapt and contribute if you justly choose to move here if you are a foreigner. People will always move, everybody wants to move in all different directions. I think that is ok as long as people respect the culture and contribute. I am honoured to contribute to this community.

Rob, can you please tell us about that pivotal moment when you decided to immortalise movement in your photography? Why did you choose to photograph dancers instead of other subjects like only landscapes or fashion brands?

As a teenager I wanted to become a National Geographic photographer. Where I come from that type of photography is the idea of what photography is. I didn’t grow up in a place where I had Vogue magazines laying around. I didn’t even know what the fashion world was. However, since I was about 20 years old I had already found inspiration in surreal painters and photographers like: René Magritte, Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carrington, Annie Leibovitz in her early days. Also Tim Walker and Eugenio Recuenco. I realised that I could create something more interesting than simple portraits and make a career out of it. When I started, I would ask my friends to pose for me, but one day, my friend who was a trained ballet and contemporary dancer posed for me and made my work a lot easier because a dancer’s job is to express through the body. This realisation sold me on the idea of working with dancers more often in my photography. For the type of work that I wanted to create it was perfect. However, I now work in a different way. I want to make sure I include all body types, whether they dance or not. That being said, the dance world is diversifying as it should. For example, ballet has always had high toxic standards for what a dancer should look like in terms of skin colour, body shape, and more, but I’m glad this is changing. As an artist, I have a responsibility to cast a more diverse range of people to represent different body sizes, shapes, and genders.

When I met Rob it was definitely love at first sight. I just knew he was going to be in my life as a brother. Then I found out he was a badass photographer and when I saw him work, he blew my mind. I have had the opportunity of working with many extremely talented photographers. Esoteric photographers that not only do the job for the fame and recognition, but they do it because they are aligned to this thing they are supposed to do in life. And me as a model/dancer, I appreciate working with artists like that. Working with Rob is the same. He sees through people; he understands the essence of what he is capturing and takes it to a higher level.

Same for me. I have shot with many different talented photographers like Camila Falquez who lives in NYC and does meaningful pictures. She tells an actual story through a photograph. This is also how I feel about Rob’s work. He creates an entire universe and dialogue when he takes a photograph. I had been following him on social media for a long time so when he followed me back, I couldn’t believe it. I was ecstatic! For me working with Rob on this past shoot was really special. The experience will stay with me for a lifetime.

Rob, with this new upcoming short film, what story and dialogue do you plan to convey to your audience?

Well, this is my first short film "Honey to the Moon," and I am eager for people to see it. It’s a very interesting film, born out of a dark time I was experiencing. I was alone in Mexico during Christmas, and I decided to throw a party for the few people that were still in the city. I felt I really needed to have fun. So I threw this party and I got drugged at my own party. Despite this, I have the weird ability to transform bad situations into an appreciation of their beauty. During the following week, I wrote about all the feelings I had surrounding that experience. All of this is before I met my partner, Eduardo. A lot of my experiences with love had been very heavy and I had been on a journey of returning to myself and prioritising loving myself before anybody else, so when the time came I could properly love somebody else; so it wouldn’t be chaos and it wouldn’t be toxic. Anyway, that is how I wrote the concept of the film.

The film channels all the emotional stages of love that I’ve experienced, from falling in and out of love, to all the highs and lows in between. I wrote each of those stages down and turned them into real art scenes. It is set in the beautiful rainforest environment of Mexico, with blue rivers, and natural wonder that I believe will deeply resonate with people. Plus, the love of my life, Eduardo, is the protagonist of the film, so it will be very personal to him and I.

Yai and Lorenzo, what excites you about the future?

I am always excited to not know what the future holds, but to keep connecting with interesting people like you guys, and keep connecting with myself and nature. I want to experience love, joy, sadness, and everything in between. I just want to live my life! Maybe play the piano? Maybe act? I don’t know. Thank you again, Rob, for the amazing collaboration we had in the mountains and the one we’re currently working on.

Yai, I am overjoyed for you and I admire the freedom you have in life. You can be yourself and remain open to receiving whatever comes your way. As for me, there is one thing I am looking forward to - my first film. It will be an epic independent film with A-list actors, and I will be doing the movement direction and casting dancers for a scene. Additionally, I will be acting in the film myself. It is absolutely nuts! The filming is scheduled for 2024. Apart from that, I am just trying to maintain a peaceful state of mind. Now that I am with my boyfriend and in love, he is my legacy and everything else is just me being my truest self. Being free and trying to stay in alignment with play, tranquillity, exciting work and of course to my friends and family, is all I need.