Mariposa is a story of love, vulnerability, and care.
A photography project that transcends the documentary and unfolds through a moving and deeply honest intimacy.
The protagonist is Magali and different moments in her life, narrated in the first person from the perspective of her partner, Maite Cerdán, based on the discovery of her diagnosis: Huntington's chorea, a hereditary, degenerative neurological disorder.
Different time periods are balanced through the incorporation of various documents, texts, and images, both archival and current. Appropriated and modified Polaroids from Magali's childhood and photographs of her current life. A dance of images that immerse the viewer in the contradictions, achievements, and obstacles of a life under construction. The blurred atmosphere materializes the feeling of estrangement from a loved one.
In the black and white snapshots of the present, we see a calm and natural Magali. The consequences of the disease are subtly evident on her body: her hands take on the shape of a butterfly due to the involuntary twisting and writhing movements of her limbs, typical of the motor symptoms of the syndrome. Some images depict nature as a common place where they enjoy themselves, where they find fresh air and strength—landscapes, trees, and animals in their natural habitat—; others are charged with allegorical and poetic potential.
The texts and documents contextualize their reality and bring us closer to their daily dilemmas. The writings are presented as a diary, from Maite's most direct and sincere expression. Fragments of conversations, thoughts, gestures, and details that reflect fear, frustration, doubt, and disappointment; but also learning, overcoming obstacles, and, above all, the security of being and knowing they are together, of being able to inhabit a safe nest.