Alan Díaz for ROWSE

Keep it simple.


Alan Diaz (@alltomorrowparties) is a self-taught photographer, and he’s also co-founder of Elida C, a contemporary jewellery brand inspired by classic literary characters and nature that he created along with his partner Marc Lago as a loving homage to his grandmother, who was a great jewellery collector.   

Alan Díaz for ROWSE

Alan Díaz for ROWSE

Keep it simple.


Alan Díaz for ROWSE

Alan Diaz (@alltomorrowparties) is a self-taught photographer, and he’s also co-founder of Elida C, a contemporary jewellery brand inspired by classic literary characters and nature that he created along with his partner Marc Lago as a loving homage to his grandmother, who was a great jewellery collector.   


ROWSE

1. How do you remember your childhood?

ALAN
When I think about my childhood I always remember our travels to Galicia, where we spent every summer with my family. Growing up in a city like Barcelona was quite stressful, but there I discovered nature and freedom.Ever since I was a child, I’ve always had some sort of artistic thing and another regarding physical movement going on in my life. I did lots of dancing and acting, and I used to do competitive synchronized swimming through my teens. At the same time, I’ve always liked film, photography, and fashion. So, over the last years, I’ve worked in different areas of these worlds and still do. In a more abstract terrain, I’ve always felt inspired and drawn to nature and really attracted to spirituality, Shintoism and Eastern philosophy. All these interests are reflected in my personality and the way I approach the things I do and sometimes create.
ROWSE

2. When did you start taking pictures?

ALAN
I started when I was 14 years old with a digital camera. Two years later I discovered photography in a different way as I bought a disposable camera for a trip I did with school to Mallorca.
ROWSE

3. And when did you start with self-portraits?

ALAN
I started when I got my first camera. All my pictures from that time are self-portraits, sunrises, landscapes and a beautiful dog that was with me during my summers in Galicia. It's quite strange that most of those pictures have a melancholy feeling that I didn't understand back then.
ROWSE

4. What is important to you when you photograph yourself?

ALAN
There’s often a mirror, the camera and yourself, looking directly to the viewer. All my self-portraits work as some kind of intimate diary. I can go back to the moment I took the picture and vividly remember my feelings at that time. That’s the power of photography, looking at my past self I can revive memorable moments.I started when I got my first camera. All my pictures from that time are self-portraits, sunrises, landscapes and a beautiful dog that was with me during my summers in Galicia. It's quite strange that most of those pictures have a melancholy feeling that I didn't understand back then.
ROWSE

5. Has nature been always something relevant for you?

ALAN
Growing up in a city was always a bit overwhelming, until I discovered places full of nature and not full with buildings. I rediscovered myself and learnt to appreciate important things, which are not always visible to our eyes.
ROWSE

6. How does nature inspire your creativity? 

ALAN
Nature is the greatest inspiration in my everyday life and also my creative ventures. Last year, after a trip to São Miguel in Azores with my partner Marc Lago, we were so impressed by the colours, the textures and the many amazing plants of the islands that we launched Élida C, a jewellery brand that connects this botanical inspiration with female literary characters. We are working now to find a way to produce earrings with natural flowers and I'm very excited about it.
ROWSE

7. What is the landscape that you treasure the most?

ALAN
The views from Miradoiro da Pena do Ladeiro, a magical viewpoint close to my grandmother's village, Moreiras do Medio, in Galicia. From there you could see the greenest mountains embracing River Sil. It is truly amazing.
ROWSE

8. When you close your eyes and you think about yourself immersed in nature, what picture do you see? 

ALAN
Freedom.
ROWSE

9. What are the places you’re dreaming to travel to?

ALAN
Iceland is definitely one of the places I want to go soon, hopefully next year. In September I was planning to celebrate my birthday in El Hierro, the second smallest of the Canary Islands. The landscape is amazing there: lava fields, millenary trees moulded by the heavy winds...
“All my self-portraits work as some kind of intimate diary. I can go back to the moment I took the picture and vividly remember my feelings at that time.” 
ROWSE

10. And what is that place you always go back to?

ALAN
Without a doubt, Galicia. I always have nostalgia with Galicia. There’s a beautiful word in Galician to express this feeling: morriña, a homesickness that almost every Galician feels when is far from home. Although I was born in Barcelona, my family and my roots are from Galicia and, so I feel Galician. Every time I go back there, I get some positive energy that no other place can make me feel.
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