"People we love" is a column where we interview artists that we love, and get an exclusive sneak peek at them, their art, and their view on the world. In this installment, we meet Pedro MKK, an emerging photograph and graphic designer.
Hi, Pedro! First things first, for those who are not aware of who you are, can you give us an introduction?
Hey, my name is Pedro MKK, I'm 24 years old and I'm a photographer and designer. At the moment I divide my time between my master's thesis in graphic design, at Faculdade Belas Artes Porto and the photographic work in which I try to develop my own language and style.
As any other, photography is such a complex form of art, how did this interest developed?
The interest was always something organic, it appeared in secondary school, at Escola Artística Soares dos Reis. At that time, the interest was more in the audiovisual (cinema, music, photography, etc.) which led me to start exploring photography more seriously and I have been doing more and more until today I have never stopped.
For any type of artist, references and heroes are a great part of owning a style. Who are your visual art references? Do you have any heroes?
Yes, I have references and some people I really like. Many of them are even inspirations outside the photographic scene. I have some heroes who are filmmakers, cinematographers, musicians, painters and they are all people who inspire me in some way. I can mention David Fincher, Roger Deakins, Yves Klein, James Blake, Frank Ocean, Felipe Pantone, Virgil Abloh, Kanye West, among many others.
Art is something so widely spread and appreciated that people always wonder what's it like to actually make it. How does it work for you? How much of your work is planned, and how much of it is just a flow of inspiration?
It usually always starts with a plan. It always starts with an image in my head that I intend to create. Planning is important for me because only then can I have greater fidelity between what I imagined and what I photograph. The first part is always planning, however part of the process also happens through the practice of trial and error. Inspiration is something I work on every day, it doesn't appear out of nowhere, and it is through this that I then try to schematize, find references, find technical means that allow me to tell through photography what I imagined.
During your career, you've worked and continue to work with other notable artists, which moment or moments do you hold closest to your heart? Any project that you wish you could re-live?
It's true, being able to work with other artists is the best thing that photographic work has brought me, because in addition to being able to work with people I admire, I also have the opportunity to be with them and get to know them better.
Among all, I would like to highlight some concerts I photographed with international artists such as Rosalia or Jorja Smith that I would like to relive because of the concerts they both gave. There are still many other projects I could mention with people I really like and who have become friends like Clara Não, Wandson Lisboa, Laro Lagosta, Pedro da Linha, D’Alva, among others.
I know we're only in the beginning, but any special plans for 2022?
Yes, continue to work even more with people I identify with, explore even more techniques in photography and be able to do more interesting projects in graphic design.
It's time for some quick-fire questions!
Favorite food?
Francesinha
Favorite movie?
Seven
If you were not a photographer, what would you'd like to be?
Professor
Any advice for aspiring photographers/visual artists?
Keep working! Try to find your language and style.