I’m Alejandro. This is a little story.
I’ve always been fascinated by the world around me. When I want to make something, I embrace the journey that goes with it. With this approach, I’ve developed skills in many different subjects. Among them, the most important were computer sciences and, subsequently, visual arts.
Until I was 25, my experiments and explorations in these fields remained largely separate. While there were occasional overlaps, I never consciously sought to find ways where they all could co-exist in a balanced way.
At some point, I grew tired of jumping from one field to another, sort of mourning each path left behind in favor of another. Is there a way to bridge them? Furthermore, internal and external pressures started to come into play. Time was ticking, and so was my motivation to continue.
One day, in the juxtaposition of despair and hope, martyr— was born. It has always been there. Latent. Waiting to be realized. Mistakes will be made, for sure. It takes courage to walk the path consiously knowing how hard it is. But hard or easy, it doesn’t matter. If it is worthwhile, it matters.
martyr— is, at its core, an act of self-discovery.
There is this tangible connection between cutting edge technology and artistic expression in the assets martyr— produces. It lives in the details.
If you pay attention, the beautiful things we enjoy and draw inspiration from have been thoughtfully crafted. Even an empty wall. Have you tried to create a clean, smooth wall with edges so straight and aligned to a squared grid? There’s a lot going on there.
That level of care is often a product of the effort put into achieving a specific purpose. Anything worthwhile demands it. We know perfection is an illusion, but going the extra mile is certainly achievable.
That same obsession extends to developing unique techniques for creating a particular family of assets. While many of these techniques come from previous experience, new ones arise during the process. The inners and hows are very specific. However, this is the key: as long as there’s genuine love for our craft, we will keep finding ways to achieve it. It’s just a matter of time.
We do not embrace shortcuts. Work is hard. Things do take effort and time. But it shouldn’t be a grind. A calm life, free from excess, with enough time for contemplation, is essential to our process.
An (un)expected coincidence of time and space brought about lovely exchanges with Ahmad and Madi, both founders of independent creative studio mönk. Our philosophy was aligned. We became close collaborators over time. Our projects and lives grew alongside each other. Now, martyr— is developed alongside mönk.
We are a team of humans, for humans.
//----- Because details matter.