Roberto Medina - «Everything can be photographed, but it’s not always beautiful»

He doesn’t like mirrors or pictures depicting faces in his home, but he’s not being superstitious, it’s just personal taste, he promises us. Being 51 years old doesn’t in any way hinder his youthful spirit, which is always present wherever music and photography are. Roberto Medina is familiar with the music industry, but it is as a photographer that he introduces himself to V&G. He made his professional debut not so long ago, but he has been an amateur for a good few years now. What fuels his soul is travelling, which is why he has spent time in Angola, Portugal, England and the Netherlands. When he’s not in the studio he likes to dedicate his time to music and on car trips he devotes himself to inspiration. He says his art is impactful without being aggressive. And that’s just what it is: sensual without being transgressive; provocative without being controversial. When he looks through his Sony A7R5, the details are important to him, perhaps more important than the words, because he prefers to give them back in a single glance, in a single expression, in a single photograph. 

Do you have many memories from your childhood in Angola?
I lived in Angola until I was 11 years old. And yes, I do have some memories, mainly of music. When I was younger, I remember my older brothers wanting to form a band as a joke... and, in fact, that’s when music entered my life, together with my friends.

From music to photography, how did your journey evolve? 
It just happened. I’ve always been involved in the arts; I did a degree in Design for Digital Media and I’d even begun studying photography. I didn’t do my studies in Portugal. In fact, I had a go at the Faculty of Design, Technology and Communication when I was 19, but then music got in the way and I ended up doing them in England years later. Photography came about as something that wasn’t exactly planned, but if I had to pinpoint a specific moment when I turned professional, I would say it was five years ago. My first professional work was the Afrikanizm Art exhibition, and up until then I had kept everything I had done for myself. I think I was waiting for a project like this to come along. The challenge was to make a chair the protagonist, and so this is what I did, but in such a way that it didn’t stand out from the models. The idea, apart from having the chair, was to showcase female beauty. I had men taking part in the photo shoot, but I preferred not to include them in the project. I only had one or two and it’s always more difficult to get them to take part in this kind of project.

Do you think this work would have been easier to undertake in England?
Yes, easier in the commercial sense, in terms of selling, because in terms of recruiting people, not so much. Only that in Angola people see it, they like it, but then they end up being afraid to buy it and show it to anyone.

«There’s a lot of Angola that the world hasn’t seen yet»

Do you believe that your art has an impact? 
I think so, in fact, I think this should be the case. By this I mean that it’s important to change certain mentalities. My art is impactful, but it’s not aggressive.

Women and nudity are two worlds that cross paths in the photographs you exhibited at Afrikanizm Art. Does the lens have limits when it comes to photography?
The model is never completely naked. If you take a look, there are details that don’t allow her to be completely naked. It isn’t easy, in fact, out of the hundred photographs I take, I choose two or three. It’s up to the photographer to have the sensitivity to choose the right ones. There’s a fine line between sensuality and pornography, so it’s a careful process. The idea is to not see just a body, but the expression of the face. It’s also about the artistic composition of the picture as a whole, it’s about the space, the clothes, the position...

What was the whole process behind it like?
The photography itself starts in the studio. My camera is a Sony A7R5 and I can say that I paid special attention to the composition of the light. I used artificial light, with a projector, flash and reflectors. So, I took the photographs, I selected them and I worked on them using Photoshop. When I say that I worked on them, I don’t mean that I removed all the imperfections, but rather what was unnecessary. It all depends on the style and project you want to achieve. But in this particular one I tried to mix fiction and, to do so, I used some effects.

Is everything scenic? Is everything beautiful? Is everything photographable?
Everything can be photographed, but it’s not always beautiful, especially in the artistic world.

How does the camera define a photographer? 
I don’t think it’s the camera that defines a photographer, because a professional can work with any camera and the result will be good all the same. Of course, if the camera is bad, the result will be poorer, but it always depends on the project you want to carry out. I, for example, have lenses that are expensive and others that cost 20 or 30 Euros second-hand, but which produce a particular effect that is ideal for certain projects.

What inspires you?
Travelling and meeting people. Anything new is good and inspiring. I travel whenever I can.

And what do you most enjoy photographing?
I like street photography. I haven’t done it in Angola yet, but I like portraying people and places. I also think that my preferences come in phases.

Which experiences or countries have shaped your career as a photographer the most?
That’s a difficult question. I think Angola has shaped me a lot. Since I returned to live in the country, I’ve realised that there’s a lot to photograph, and in different ways. There’s a lot of Angola that the world hasn’t seen yet, which is why I think that I will be able to develop and gather more experience in this country.

If you had to choose one landscape in Angola to capture, what would it be?
The Serra da Leba.

What are the greatest challenges in this profession?
In view of the last project I did, getting in touch with the right people is a challenge. For example, I didn’t choose to go to an agency to request models, who might arrive, show themselves and that’s it. No. I like to come across people in the street and think that they would make a great photo, with a certain position and light. Maybe in other people’s eyes there’s no potential, but I do a thorough analysis and work out what can and can’t be adjusted. So, for my latest exhibition, I found my models in the street. I approached them, without knowing them, and set them this challenge.

What are you planning for the future?
I’m not thinking beyond a year (he laughs). This year I’d like to do a street project, go to so-called «risky» places and take pictures of both people and architecture.
I also have another idea in mind. There’s a street vendor you see every day on the Rua do Miramar. She’s always there, in the same position, with different clothes and expressions. My idea is to take photographs of her for a month and make a montage with the material I’ve collected. On the other hand, I’d also like to focus on music. The genre I want to focus on isn’t well defined, it will have some African characteristics, but it won’t be kizomba or semba, even though I like it.

Tell me about Roberto Medina.
I’m 51 years old and the father of two daughters. I was born in Angola and my parents are from Cape Verde. I studied and lived in Portugal for several years, then travelled and lived in England and the Netherlands. Roberto is the same Beto Medina from his music days.

«I like to come across people in the street and think that they would make a great photo»

Text: Joana Rebelo
Photography: Edson Azevedo