Mónica Riveiro
José Manuel García wrote on his acknowledgments page regarding my photography:
“Mónica Riveiro gave me the photograph for the cover, in which she managed to capture the edge of the thicket. Photographers often see more—and deeper. That’s why, because within the snail lies the thicket, confined in the circular shell that marks the edge. Inside: imagination, and doubt, the heart, shadow, fear, and joy. Outside… Inside, the snail; outside… And a small hole in the shell, because in this world, nothing is opaque, solid, or still. The edge of the thicket that I unfold in words, Mónica captured in a single gaze, and I thank her for it.”
And I thank José Manuel for his words—for several reasons. On one hand, he made me reflect on that phrase: “photographers often see more—and deeper.” I think he’s right, although I’d add a nuance: it’s not so much that we see deeper, but rather that we sense what lies beneath. I’m not sure I truly know how to see beyond, but sometimes I feel I can sense it.
I remember perfectly the moment I took this photograph. That day (like so many others), I was playing with letting myself be drawn to whatever caught my attention without knowing why: a dying palm tree surrounded by living nature, a drop of water on a blade of grass. And the snail. Motionless, stuck to a wall, with its shell with a hole.
When I observe images like that, a big question inevitably forms in my mind. And in the case of the snail, the question was clear: life? death?
I was surprised that, back then, José Manuel chose this image for the cover of his book.
On the other hand, I believe those two words are symbolic concepts that also inhabit my photography: edge and thicket . The edge, as that subtle limit that doesn’t separate, but connects; the threshold between the interior and the exterior, the visible and the invisible. And the thicket, as something that evokes depth, complexity, mystery, and the unconscious that invites imagination.
I am grateful to José Manuel for putting words to what I could only sense: the edge of the thicket.
From his poetry collection, I choose two poems that have deeply resonated with me: “What Matters” and “Never.”
