Alice Murillo, activist photographer

Alice Murillo began her career in the audiovisual industry as a video editor. Passionate about photography, she completed the " Professionalising your practice " certification in 2021.

She co-created the collective L'inconnu[e] with Antoine Boissonot, Carole Gressier, Gabriela Larrea and Maxime Antony, whom she met during the certification.

Through a colorful, moving aesthetic, she creates dreamlike, surreal worlds where intimacy and politics intertwine.

My work as an intermittent video editor gave me time to develop personal projects. Photography gradually came into my life, and as I showed my work, I got more and more positive feedback, and felt the need to train.

I took several courses, including two at GOBELINS. The 2-month course " Professionalising your practice  " taught me a lot about the professional world of photography.

The last module was led by Laure Bouvet, the creator of " Well Done John ", an initiative designed to support photographers in their artistic and professional careers. This course focused on professionalizing one's business. The combination of all these elements gave me the impetus to get started.

Powerful" series - Alice Murillo

As far as I'm concerned, images have a powerful influence on the collective imagination. We have a responsibility as creators.

I started photography in 2018, and feminism has become a very important part of my life that year. So photography and my activism are intimately linked.

We started by creating residencies. The five of us go away at least once a year. These moments of experimentation and creation are also an opportunity for us to discuss our next projects.

We organized our first joint exhibition in September 2023 at the Floréal Belleville gallery. We presented a joint series based on our existing photos, creating links between our different works.

We're currently putting together a collective project, with each of us creating a personal series on a common theme.

For a year and a half now, we've also been organizing monthly aperitifs for photographers, with a gallery visit followed by a drink. These evenings enable us to get together in what can be a very solitary world. We share the dates on our Instagram account @linconnue.art.

"Samia" - portrait Alice Murillo

In 2020, I took my first 10-day GOBELINS course on portraiture. It was there that I discovered studio photography.

I started doing long exposure tests and then discovered Photoshop, which I knew very little about during my second course. From then on, I experimented a lot and took up long exposure photography again, combining it with Photoshop. It was this combination that enabled me to find my style, after a lot of trial and error.

I like to create photos that aren' t completely realistic , and long exposure is a good tool for achieving this.

Instagram has enabled me to share my photos as widely as possible and to promote my work beyond my immediate circle. It's how I'm contacted by artists looking for a photographer.

I also try to do regular portfolio readings and have exhibited my work on several occasions.

I also approach potential clients with whom I'd like to work, and I've started working for the press in this way.

"Repos" - Alice Murillo

Creation! I have a thousand ideas a second! I can't bring them all to life, but I love this research, it's great to create!

My personal series also allow me to meet fascinating people, whom I want to put forward, and to tackle subjects that interest me and seem important to me.

The "Professionalising your practice "course really changed my relationship with photography and the place I wanted it to take in my life.

It was in this context that we met the godmother and godfather of our collective, as they are two speakers, Laure Bouvetand Stéphane Coutelle. I've also made friends there.

Creatures" series - Alice Murillo

What really paid off for me was finding my own style, my own signature, and embracing it fully. That's the advice I've been given the most.

An iconographer recently complimented my work, telling me that I had a strong, assertive visual identity.

You have to do what suits you and keep having fun with your photos!