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RAW Book Cover Self-Portrait

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"Esto no es una mujer" ( This is not a woman) Alexandra, 23; Caracas, Venezuela

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"Apatía" (Apathy) Eda, 66, Forli, Italia ; Barbara, 31; Forli, Italia / San Juan, Puerto Rico

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“Freno” (Brake) Bebo, 30, Carolina Puerto Rico

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“Fragile” Carolyn, 27, Culebra, Puerto Rico

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“Interrumpida”(Interrupted) Camelia, 31, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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“I am free” Alkis, 60, Athens, Greece

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“Which Way?” Liliana, 23, Pasto, Colombia / Queens, New York

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“Shiness” Liraz, 29, Israel

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“Podré darle todo?” (Will I be able to give her everything?) Dácil, 30, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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"Lo no dicho" (What is not said) Cristina, 39; Cáceres, España

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“A misfit in my own body” Cristina, 29, Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

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"Miedo al Miedo" (Fear of Fear) Rubén, 29, Móstoles, España

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“Rejection” Laura, 34, San Juan, Puerto Rico / NYC

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"Is it Enough?" María Isabel, 56; San Juan, Puerto Rico & Bob, 54; Brooklyn, New York USA

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"No soy una niña" (I am not a little girl) Nina, 26; Dorado, Puerto Rico (SELF PORTRAIT)

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"Scared to be Free" Kathleen, 25; Anchorage, Alaska

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“Mi tiempo es oro” (My time is gold) Alex, 45, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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"I am better than you, but who am I?" Elizabeth, 24; Quakertown, Pennsylvania USA

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“I am wall” Harrison, 21, Santa Monica, California

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“Mi Corazon en tus manos” (My heart in your hands) Michelle, 29, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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“Dolores de Crecimiento”(Growing Pains) Odalys, 27, Bayamón, Puerto Rico ; Maya, 30, Bogotá, Colombia

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“Retraimiento”(Restraint) Marien Enid, 29, Yauco, Puerto Rico

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“Tierna Furia” (Tender Fury) Omar, 34, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico

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“Solo”(Alone) Bobby, 25, Ann Arbor, Michigan USA

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“February Seventeen Two Thousand Eleven”, Elizabeth, 32, Ponce Puerto Rico, David, 31, Louisianna USA

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"Falta de Inspiración" (Lack of Inspiration) Maria Georgina, 25; Guaynabo, Puerto Rico

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“La ceguera” (Blindness) Juan, 29, Almería, España

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"Burla al Deseso" (Deceive and Decease) Abismael, 38; Arecibo, Puerto Rico

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“Tu lo haces mejor que yo” (You do it better than me) Bagicha, 34, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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"I can't be alone" Dunia, 21, Dominican Republic/The Bronx, New York USA

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"Soy Opaco" (I am opaque) Miguel, 33, Albacete, España "Four seasons in one day" Eva, 30; Turhout, Belgium

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“No quiero que me aplasten” ( I do not want to be stepped on) Gabriela, 25, Santiago de Chile

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“Amame tal cual soy” (Love me as I am) ,Joelly 27, Canovanas, Puerto Rico

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“Entre miedos” (In between fears) Esteban, 35, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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“Muerta en vida” (Dead in life) Lorena, 33, Asturias, España

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"Aún tan vulnerable como un niño" (Still as vulnerable as a child) Pedro, 28, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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"Il mio cuore era, di ghiaccio, e bruciava" (My heart is frozen but it burns) Luca, 32; Turin, Italia

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"Tutti mi vonu, Nudru mi piglia" (Everyone wants me, no one will take me) Stella, 24, Secaucus, New Jersey USA

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“Dying Alone” Guy, 54, Baltimore, Maryland / NYC

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“No me ates” (Do not tie me down) Daniel, 28, Isla Verde, Puerto Rico

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“No me defines” (Do not define me) Maceo, 34, Monterrey, Mexico

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“Emotionally Hungry” Tijana, 26, Sombor, ,Serbia

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“No me mires” (Do not look at me) Sara, 24, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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"Pierdo media vida en la cama" (I lose half my life in bed) Sergio, 24, Madrid, España

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“The mirror between us” Sharon, 33, New Jersey, USA & Carrie, 33, New Jersey, USA

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“Aún la quiero” (I still love her) Manuel, Lora del Río, España

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“Puedo?”(Can I?) Marimer, 55, San Juan, Puerto Rico

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“Did I miss again?” Nolan, 20, Martha’s Vinyard, Massachusetts

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"Unfullfilled Potencial" Rolando, 33, San Juan, Puerto Rico / "Controll Issues" Matthew, 50, Washington, DC, USA

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“Nada” (Nothing) Hector, 61, San Juan , Puerto Rico

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"Getting Old Alone" Abby, 51, New York, New York, USA

RAW: Revealing the Essence

“Raw, natural, genuine. The subjects of Raw bare it all in an effort to confront and ultimately accept their fears and insecurities. They undress not only for my camera and the eyes of the outside world, but more importantly, for themselves. I believe that, contrary to what people might think, these feelings unite us more than divide us, because in the end we are all living the human experience.”

–Nina Méndez Martí

Raw is the first solo exhibition by photographer Nina Méndez Martí in her native Puerto Rico. The idea behind it all began with a self-portrait in which the artist exposed her own fears. This experience drove Nina in 2007 to make a further study on the universal theme of human insecurities. Since then, she has photographed over fifty subjects from different parts of the world, twenty-eight of which form part of this exhibition. The Raw series presents photographs of people who not only bare their essence, but their bodies as well. The artist proves that art has the ability to transcend cultures, geographic boundaries and even time. The images express the idea that beyond our appearance, gender or nationality, we all have an inner reality that transcends our very skin.

As if clothing were a shield for our most inner beliefs, Méndez Martí successfully gets her subjects to strip from their clothes and ornaments and come out of their shell. Their bodies are naked, yet their skin remains decorated with personal expressions about real insecurities and fears. Thus the words, that once only expressed the subject’s vulnerability, take on a greater meaning by giving voice to an inner strength and acceptance. “I am better than you but who am I?”, “Lo no dicho”, “Miedo al miedo”, “I can’t be alone”, “Is this enough?” are some of the phrases. The twenty-eight photographs expose nude people who dare to be more than a limited and distorted portrayal of a deeper reality.

Since we have all experienced fear and insecurities at some point, we can relate to the subjects. Raw challenges us to face ourselves and experience our own emotions, which are simultaneously our condemnation and salvation.

Raw goes beyond an aesthetic experience, it reveals an inner truth that we all have. Mendez Martí shows that through the process of recognition and acceptance of our hidden emotions we attain a state of liberation. All that is left is the naked truth.