OMAR MARILUZ

“The Old Blood” – is a new series, inspirated by ‘Bloodborne’ and ‘Hannibal’. Captured by Omar Mariluz, feat. Abdier Benitez. Body paint by Charly Joaquin Dominguez.

This photo series is meant to use symbolism to tell a story about the duality of humanity. It’s inspired in popular media, particularly from the video game “Bloodborne” and the tv series version of “Hannibal”. In the former, humankind’s lust for power and knowledge leads them to consume the blood of eldritch gods which inadvertently transforms the people into beasts. In game, the inspiration is from the first major enemy faced, called the Cleric Beast. The title of this photo series is primarily inspired by this video game.

In the case of Hannibal the series, the Wendigo, a mythological figure in First Nation’s people’s folklore is meant to foreshadow the nature of Dr. Hannibal. This is because the Wendigo, the second inspiration for this photo series, represents hunger, cannibalism, winter and death. Similarly additional elements in this photo series were used to reinforce these elements: the red spider lily is a flower that in Japan represents death. The red used throughout the photo series, in the background, eyes, and the very blood itself, is also used to imply both life and death.The duality the photo series is meant to evoke is by using the red, representing both life and death, the chrome, representing machine, and the wendigo, representing hunger as a metaphor for humankind’s mechanically driven consumption of life. The nudity is meant to reinforce the bestial nature of this transformation but also contrast with the mechanical appearance provided by the chrome paint.