Inspired by the mysterious quiet of artist Cecilia Paredes’ “photoperformances”, the video for Mia Maestro’s single “Blue Eyed Sailor” depicts a perpetual metamorphosis. The visuals are the product of a directorial collaboration between Academy Award-winning cinematographer Guillermo Navarro and new media artist Juan Azulay, while the track itself was produced by the Björk and CocoRosie cohort Valgeir Sigurðsson, and arranged by composer Nico Muhly. Covered in ornate body makeup, Maestro is camouflaged against matching backdrops as she sings at once about the breed of butterfly that inspired key visuals in this clip, and of a bygone romance with an enchanting character who transformed repeatedly over the course of a courtship. “You see a body trying to morph into a background, an exile intending to blend into a foreign context,” she says. Having initially carved out a career in film, appearing in features such as The Motorcycle Diaries, Frida and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, the Argentine notes that songwriting is an art form she now prefers over acting: “Writing songs feels a lot more personal—I’m more vulnerable when I’m doing music. I’ve always believed that there’s a deep connection between singing and showing a glimpse of your spirit.”
STATS FROM ON SET
Number days spent shooting
Three.
Favorite camouflage scenario
Black, swallowed by the forest.
Total time spent being painted
23 hours.
Total time spent washing paint off
Eight minutes.
Amount of soap used
The usual. Paint was water-soluble.
Hardest thing to do whilst covered in paint
I was actually naked when I walked to the bathroom in front of 150 people at Mirada Studios.
Total number of butterflies filmed (both painted and real)
Over 100? I tend to exaggerate.
Total number of articles of clothing worn
One pair of shoes, one skirt, one white shirt.
Total number of make-up artists needed to apply the body paint
Three.
Humorous on-set moment
While lying naked in a blue bliss, one of the backgrounds fell to the ground and almost killed me. Thankfully we had a good bottle of mescal to wash away the scare.