Barcelona-based illustrator Mar Cerdà turned to paper art after feeling too constricted within the two dimensions of paper. “I studied cinema in ESCAC, specializing in art direction, and when I had the opportunity to illustrate a children’s book suddenly 2D wasn’t enough for me,” she explained in an interview with We Heart.
“I started cutting paper and creating little houses in 3D for the main characters in my first book, and I got hooked,” she admits. The path to creating miniature dioramas was paved from there. Jump forward some years later, and her creations are now displayed in galleries around the world, celebrated for their level of execution.
Each diorama begins with a sketch, after which Cerdà hunts for reference images. “I like to find just the right tile designs or the best plants to go with the piece,” she says. With a background in cinema and audiovisuals and a fascination with scenography and the treatment of space, Cerdà is a firm believer that characters can be defined by a space, even if they are not present within it.
Studying cinema has also influenced the way Cerdà illustrates, inspired by both movies and the art of making movies which includes details like lighting, mise-en-scène and, above all, the use of space. Completing one piece can take anything between one or two days to more than three weeks.
Here are some highlights from her Instagram page.
