Pablo Perez is a self-taught photographer whose work embodies the idea of movement, nostalgia and community connection. When we first spoke of doing the interview, Pablo mentioned he had recently been inspired by the Welsh word "hiraeth", which means a "deep longing for something, especially one's home". From moving location to location over the years (From Texas to New York, Uruguay and back to Louisiana) photography has always been what has kept Pablo rooted. "Photography has given me a sense of place". From intimate portraits of neighbors to quiet swampy landscapes, there is this comfort in Pablo's work because it can all feel so relatable; it can really visually transport us back to some sort of home we long for.

You have lived in a number of places (NYC, Louisiana, Texas). How did living in these different areas shape your work?

Growing up, I moved around a lot. This included living in Utah a few times, Mexico City twice and even Puerto Rico. This theme of change has stayed with me as an adult as I moved between LA, Utah, NYC and now Louisiana. On top of that, both my parents come from different cultures. My Dad from Colombia and my Mom from German/Uruguay. This variety of influences has helped me keep an open and interested mind when it comes to my surroundings. Lately, photography has become a way for me to find a sense of place, regardless of where I am at. It’s not so much that any one place has influenced me in a specific way, rather, the act of change and moving has been shaping my work.

My most recent move, going from NYC to Louisiana,  was the most drastic of these changes. The shift in pace of life really has had me thinking about what I value and want to seek out. I gained and learned so much from being in NYC. I learned about things like how the photo industry works. I was also constantly surrounded by immediate access to great art and artists. It gave me a lot to aspire to. Being in Louisiana forced me to take what I had learned and seek out a path for myself, helping me understand what it is it that I gravitate towards when I have no bearings or previous connection to a place. The change in pace has really helped provide clarity. It forced me to settle down and be more present (something I am constantly trying to work on). Through my interactions with people in Louisiana, I have grown to appreciate the beauty that comes from slowness. It shows itself through valuing relationship, tossing aside the constraint of time for the sake of connection.

I love the meaning of "hiraeth" and how we can all relate to this feeling of  nostalgia to a place that no longer exists anymore. How does the meaning/motif of hiraeth and nostalgia help form your current work?

Hiraeth is a Welsh word defined as: “A spiritual longing for a home which maybe never was. It is the echo for our lost soul’s past and grief for them.”

How can I use my past experiences to navigate what feels like home for me currently? How can my past inform my future and what I am becoming? I gravitate to moments that feel like home for me. Whether it’s an interaction with a couple who helped me get out of a ditch alongside the road or kids playing in the Mississippi river. These are moments that I haven’t directly experienced before but yet help me feel at home in the moment. This is still a work in progress as I actively discover what this looks like, but I have been really interested in an idea labeled nomadic memory and how this ties into Hiraeth. Nomadic memory is essentially repurposing memories and past experiences to help you become something new. Which I know sounds like an overly complicated way of saying “your past informs your future” but it entails becoming your true individual self, regardless of the structures you may have come from or are currently in. In this case, “becoming has to do with emptying out the self, opening it out to possible encounters with the ‘outside’”.

There’s a quote by Virginia Woolf that has really stuck with me when thinking about this: “I am rooted but I flow.” What am I rooted in? What does that look like? Especially when I’m in a new and unfamiliar place like Louisiana? How do I simultaneously feel affirmed in my past and current self while being open to new experiences and change? The places and times I grew up in don’t exist as they once were but I can draw from those circumstances to find what feels like home to me in my current context. Searching for these pieces and experiences is helping me create my own mosaic of what home means to me. I want the meaningfulness of these small moments to amount to something greater that I can hold onto with fondness.

Many of your images hold this very sentimental and familiar vibe; locations and interiors that can feel so relatable  (ie: people wading in a nearby river, an empty bed). What draws you to these quiet and tranquil locations/moments?

I’m drawn to these tranquil spaces and moments because to me, they reinforce presence. I think there is something in my subconscious that is attracted to the stability these moments bring for me, especially amidst the constant change we all experience. Photography is a beautiful tool that allows us to organize time and space, something I haven’t had a lot of control over growing up. It’s  a reminder to me that the tranquility i seek out will always be available if I put the energy towards finding it. It’s a conscious effort to subdue a subconscious need for order within turbulence.

What advice would you give your younger self (or younger photographers) when it comes to navigating a new town/space/environment to exist and shoot in?

What I would say to my younger self and younger photographers is to follow your interests and impulses. If you don’t know what you’re interested in, following even what you THINK you might be interested in is so valuable and worth your time. There is so much the world has to offer if we open ourselves to it and it’s how we ultimately find our own voice and perspective. The photography and work you make will ultimately be a byproduct of where you place your interests, but you have to let yourself follow them and see where they can take you

Who are some of your photography influences?

A few people I have had in front of mind recently are Curan Hattleberg, Carolyn Drake and Gregory Halpern. I really resonate with Curan’s process, he does a really good job of  spending quality time with his subjects and environments. Carolyn Drake I have especially been enjoying her project with her partner, Andres Gonzalez, “I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours.” I love how they reimagine an existing space, the and make it their own through connections and observations they make with the people and environment along the US/Mexico border. Greg Halpern I feel like shares similarities with the aforementioned photographers in the way he interprets an existing place to express a different, more personal perspective, especially with his project Zzyzx.