Capturing the Vulnerability of Reconnection: Mar Sáez’s Terza Vita and the Cinematic Nights of Rome
Welcome to this edition of [book spotlight]. Today, we uncover the layers of 'Terza Vita,' by Mar Sáez (published by Schilt Publishing & Gallery). We'd love to read your comments below about these insights and ideas behind the artist's work.
How do you capture candid cinematic night photography while guiding strangers?
Night photography is unpredictable, especially when working with people you’ve just met. Finding the right balance between direction and spontaneity is what makes the difference between a lifeless pose and a real moment. In Terza Vita, Mar Sáez had to approach strangers, earn their trust, and guide them—without losing the feeling of authenticity. The result is a series of images that feel both intimate and cinematic, blending documentary with a sense of storytelling. This is about how she made it happen.
Some moments unfold naturally, but others need a little push. Strangers don’t always know what to do in front of a camera, especially in the middle of the night. Sáez had to step in—not to control the scene, but to help people return to the moment she first noticed. That mix of observation and direction is what gives Terza Vita its atmosphere, turning ordinary encounters into something unforgettable.
The pandemic reshaped human connection—Terza Vita explores what came next.
The Book
Terza Vita is a photographic project by Mar Sáez that explores intimacy, freedom, and reconnection in post-pandemic Rome. Shot between 2021 and 2022, the series captures young lovers, strangers, and the city’s empty spaces as they transition from isolation to rediscovery. Blending cinematic night photography with a documentary approach, Sáez balances observation and direction, creating images that feel both spontaneous and carefully composed. The project includes photography, video, and audio testimonies, culminating in a photobook that reflects on the emotional and social shifts of a world reopening. Terza Vita is about the moments when people reclaimed their place in the city and in each other’s lives. (Mar Sáez’s eshop, Special edition, Schilt Publishing & Gallery, Amazon)
Upcoming exhibitions:
Castellón. Imaginaria Festival, from May 15 – June 23
Murcia. Centro Párraga, from June 27 – September 5.
Photos of special edition of the book
Overview of the project: What inspired you to create Terza Vita, and what were your primary objectives in exploring the rebirth of interpersonal relationships in post-pandemic Rome?
The project ‘Terza Vita’ is visual research carried out by means of historical and contemporary comparisons. I was interested in the resonances and dissonances in the eternal city during a period of two years of enforced isolation. In the first phase, when restrictions on movement and social contact were widespread, I created a collective map of testimonies about what freedom meant for people of different ages and social classes in Rome. This initial phase culminated in a sound installation featured in the Terza Vita exhibition. Subsequently, in the second phase, in which I combined video and photography, I focused on portraying adolescents who were re-establishing connections after this period of solitude. Here, I was interested in exploring the themes of intimacy and vulnerability.
Were there any perspectives that surprised you or made you rethink your own understanding of freedom?
As part of this research on freedom, I found two very different perspectives. On the one hand, a Kurdish migrant expressed the view that, although Romans wanted to appear open and tolerant, the city was still fascist. On the other hand, I interviewed a woman in her nineties who remembered the Second World War as a better time. Her name was Franca, and she lamented the expansion of certain freedoms, including women's rights and sexual freedom. She felt that everything was better in the past and blamed the current situation on what she saw as problems, such as her older son still living at home or the fact that her daughter had not married her partner. Meanwhile, several young women agreed during the interviews that the lack of security for women in Rome affected their freedom to move around safely.
Choosing Rome and Ostia as settings: How did the historical and cultural backdrop of Rome, particularly the beaches of Ostia, influence your portrayal of young lovers reestablishing connections after a prolonged period of isolation?
This work began during my residency at the Royal Academy of Spain in Rome in February 2021 (when I moved to the city) and continued until the summer of 2022. Until June 2021, we lived under constant restrictions on social interaction and mobility. These restrictions eased in June 2021. This coincided with the beginning of summer, creating the perfect moment for adolescents, eager for contact, to resume their social ties in the streets of Rome—above all, on the beaches of Ostia. These beaches bore witness to and became the backdrop for the return of a long-contained desire that was reclaiming its place.
As an observer and creator, it struck me as a strange moment because, after such a long time when physical contact was not possible, I suddenly saw young people reconnecting with an intense drive for life, as if the pandemic had never happened. I felt they were hungry for life once more. They were vulnerable yet eager to discover a third life—looking forward to the future but conquering the present.
Did you find that their relationships had actually changed in any lasting way, or was there a sense of trying to reclaim something that had been lost?
I think that many of them wanted to make up for the time they had missed out on, as they felt it was lost time. I felt that they wanted to seize the moment so that time would not pass by without doing something fundamental for them—connecting with their peers and sharing experiences.
Capturing intimacy and vulnerability: Your photographs delve deeply into the personal spaces of your subjects. What approaches did you employ to build trust and authentically capture their emotions and vulnerabilities?
In my work, I am very interested in the concept of intimacy and breaking down barriers between photographer and subject. To foster this closeness, when I approach my subjects, I explain the project I am working on and spend as much time as needed. Sometimes, I feel a genuine connection between myself and my subjects. That is when the images begin to flow organically.
For me, the key to building trust and genuinely capturing emotions and vulnerabilities lies in time, honesty, empathy, and passion. When I develop these works, the people I am portraying can see my deep engagement in the process, which often inspires them further. I am also willing to share my own vulnerability.
Integration of multimedia elements: In addition to photography, you incorporated video recordings and audio interviews into this project. How did these elements enhance the storytelling and emotional depth of Terza Vita?
I am interested in taking a multidisciplinary approach. I believe that combining photography, text, video, and sound enriches the narrative and allows the final work to take shape in various formats.
In my case, the ‘Terza Vita’ exhibition includes different spaces. One is dedicated to a sound installation where the central figures are the city's inhabitants and their testimonies. Another space presents a dialogue between photographs, while a third showcases three audiovisual pieces that complete the project. One video is dedicated to teenage couples, another explores art in Rome, and a third combines these elements with the deserted spaces I witnessed during my first months in a foreign city. At that time, with no tourism and strict restrictions, going outside was nearly impossible.
As a result, I was able to experience and capture empty spaces in solitude—places I never imagined I could see uninhabited, such as the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, and the Colosseum.
The project culminates in the photobook ‘Terza Vita’, which offers a more personal and reflective experience. It brings together photographs of these young people in dialogue with artistic representations of love that I discovered in the museums of Rome.
Exploring the concept of ‘third life’: The title Terza Vita suggests a new phase of existence. How do your images reflect this idea of a ‘third life’ emerging from the interplay between past experiences and present realities?
Terza Vita seeks to capture a 'third life' within the multilayered identity of an iconic city, balancing between nostalgia for the past and uncertainty about the present. This 'third life' serves as a metaphor for a deeply personal reinterpretation—one that remains open to the viewer’s own experiences and the emotions the images evoke.
Technical and aesthetic considerations: What equipment and techniques did you use to achieve the intimate and evocative aesthetic of Terza Vita, and how did these choices impact the final presentation of the work?
I worked with both analog and digital equipment but ultimately decided to discard the analog photographs. For night photography, I chose to enhance the scarce natural light with artificial LED lighting. I aimed to create a cinematic aesthetic.
I've always been passionate about cinema. Before becoming a photographer, I wanted to be a filmmaker, which is why I enjoy creating images that evoke cinematic references. In my work, I combine documenting observed scenes with staging others using real people. These are scenes constructed from real events.
In other words, the couples in the project are real, but some may have been directed to pose in a specific way to better convey the essence of what I saw in them. I'm very interested in exploring neo-documentary and the boundaries of the documentary genre.
How do you decide when to intervene and direct a scene versus when to let it unfold naturally?
In general, I would like to intervene as little as possible in my scenes, but it is true that sometimes people in front of the camera experience an initial blockage, which they don’t always know how to overcome on their own. Often, some of the people I portray have an initial instinct to want to look 'good' in the photograph, which results in a sense of artificiality in their pose. It also happens that when I photograph someone in the middle of an action, I have to introduce myself and explain what I am capturing. This often leads them to interrupt what they are doing, and they don’t always know how to resume it naturally.
Faced with these two situations, my approach involves helping these people overcome this blockage by providing some direction in their posing. In addition, I try to convey to them that the images I aim to create are not about looking good or seeing themselves in a flattering way, but rather about capturing a moment, an atmosphere, and what they are experiencing.
For example, when I approached some couples who were lying on the beaches at night, they would first sit up to talk to me, listen to my proposal to take part in the project, and their natural instinct was to remain seated rather than lie back down. For me, directing these people meant repositioning them as I had originally found them. I then played with slight variations of this initial pose, always maintaining the essence of two young lovers sharing and enjoying a night on the beaches of Lido di Ostia.
Challenges during the creative process: What were some of the significant challenges you faced while developing this project, and how did you overcome them to maintain the integrity of your vision?
The biggest challenge for me was approaching strangers in a moment of openness and disrupting their intimacy and freedom to ask them to collaborate on the project. It's not always easy to rely on the cooperation of people who don’t know you, especially those unfamiliar with the art world or uninterested in artistic projects. Most of the photographs were taken in the early hours of the morning, which presented significant challenges.
Advice for emerging photographers: For photographers interested in exploring themes of intimacy and human connection, what insights from your experience with Terza Vita would you share to guide their creative journeys?
The advice I would give them applies to all kinds of topics. Above all, I would encourage them to tell stories that truly resonate with them—stories they want to explore deeply, dedicating time to researching in advance, reflecting on the type of images they want to create or seek out, considering the necessary logistics, and planning how much time they can devote to it. A crucial decision must be made before embarking on a project, and once the journey has begun, it's important to ensure it's the right one.
For me, doing a personal project often means sacrificing time I usually spend with family, friends, and leisure. Above all, I would emphasize the importance of ethics, empathy, sincerity, dialogue, and, of course, allowing the necessary time for this connection to develop.
To discover more about this intriguing body of work and how you can acquire your own copy, you can find and purchase the book here. (Mar Sáez’s eshop, Special edition, Schilt Publishing & Gallery, Amazon)
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