Entering the artist Susana Guerrero’s workshop in Elche reveals a world that feels personal, almost instinctual. Each piece carries its own symbol or story. In this Elche studio, Guerrero arranges chests, saints printed on shoe rubber, trucks, and metal cable figures, alongside tiaras and other organic motifs like agave leaves. Yet her art is more than what meets the eye; it’s the energy she infuses into every work. This vitality reflects in the documentary directed by Mario-Paul Martínez, which captures the essence of Guerrero’s practice. The film will screen this Thursday at 20:00 at Odeón Cinemas in Elche, where Guerrero, Martínez, and the cinematographer Vicente Javier Pérez will participate in a post-screening colloquium. The trio shares a teaching lineage at the Miguel Hernández University (UMH).
Among Susana Guerrero’s works, a portrait of the artist with her head in her hands stands out as a symbol of resilience and personal growth. Guerrero’s focus centers on powerful figures who bear history in their faces. The short film’s title, Warrior, Your Head Is in Your Hands, arises from this exploration of strength under pressure.
Susana Guerrero brings her contemporary art to churches
One of the most recent pieces by the Elche creator took him to the historic town of Toro in Zamora. In December 2020, Guerrero was invited to present a sculpture for the San Sebastián de los Caballeros Church-Museum, where a particular figure resonated with his ideas and seemed destined to be captured in the work. Saint Catherine of Alexandria emerges in this commission. Legend tells of Catherine dismantling a cogwheel to defend her faith before her martyrdom at the hands of Emperor Maxentius, a moment Guerrero reinterprets through his sculpture. It surprised Guerrero to learn that the fresco’s painter was a woman, Teresa Díez, whose mysterious inscription on the work adds a layer of enigmatic history. This trio of women—Saint Catherine, Teresa Díez, and Guerrero—frames the short documentary directed by Mario-Paul Martínez, turning a historic tale into visual dialogue.
Idea
The concept emerged when Guerrero needed promotional footage for flagship spaces such as 532 Gallery Thomas Jaeckel in New York. Martínez, affiliated with UMH’s Research Center for the Arts (CíA) and a professor of Audiovisual Communication, agreed to collaborate. “I don’t do interviews or video books,” Guerrero reportedly told Martínez, who recalls the moment with a smile. Yet the project of reconstructing Saint Catherine’s form inspired a different approach: a short documentary shot in place of an interview, following a graphic storyboard.
The plan evolved into a nine-person team, most previously students who became professionals, who spent weeks filming and editing. The documentary traces the full creative process of rebuilding Saint Catherine of Alexandria, slated for exhibition at an Ibero-American event in Toro. Through Guerrero’s reflections, the narration explains how each bone, each symbol, and each seam holds meaning. “I wanted to reveal Guerrero’s spirit, capture her personality, and connect with her rather than present a sterile documentary,” explains the project manager. “The goal was to fuse cinematography with Guerrero’s work and create a dialogue between forms,” adds Vicente Javier Pérez. The team achieved this synthesis.
Guerrero’s studio rituals permeate every element. “I’m crafting decapitated figures who endure decapitation, a legend brought back to life,” the artist explains from Toro, where the torso’s rib cage remains on display. Critics and supporters from various circles, including Joaquin Badajoz, gallery owners in New York, Thomas Jaeckel, and Rosa Maria Castells of the Alicante Contemporary Art Museum, have commented on Guerrero’s work and its impact.
Play with light
The film emphasizes light and shadow and the bold use of red, reinforcing the motifs found in Guerrero’s pieces and guiding viewers through the artist’s mindset. The 18-minute documentary was filmed in Guerrero’s Elche studio, outdoors at Camp d’Elx, at UMH’s Faculty of Fine Arts in Altea, and in Toro. “It’s fascinating to see where Guerrero’s ideas originate and how the pieces come to life,” notes Pérez. Guerrero’s profile has grown internationally as her works circulate widely, inviting audiences to delve into the methods and rituals behind each creation. The documentary has earned first prize at the Mulier Mulieris Visual Arts Biennial and has been shown at the University of Alicante Museum, the Venice Art Biennale, the Sax International Film Festival, and Miami. “There is a plan for a second part of the trilogy to capture more of this journey,” Martínez hints. (citation: festival and exhibition records, 2021–2024)