Personal beliefs are perceptions shaped by our experiences, ranging from positive moments that reinforce confidence to traumas that limit our perspective. These convictions influence our relationships, challenges and understanding of the world.

The project uses Parachilna lights, with each one representing a personal belief. Arranged as a constellation, they make up an introspective self-portrait that connects identity and beliefs. In a video-recorded work of performance art, the artist turns on each light to express the associated belief, symbolising self-knowledge and transformation.

This act confirms that re-signifying our beliefs redefines our perception of ourselves. Through the metaphor of a constellation, our beliefs emerge as stars that reveal essential patterns of identity when they come together. The project reflects on beliefs a mental maps that guide our emotions, behaviours and perspectives, and explores their impact on our way of understanding ourselves and interacting with the world.

Arale Reartes, born in Barcelona in 1995, is an artist combining photography and video. After earning her undergraduate degree in art history (2016) and specialising in photography in Barcelona and New York, she worked in fashion photography for brands such as Armani and publications such as Vogue. Her personal work, such as Rooms: Pursuit of Home and Coraza: Puesta en el abismo [Armour: Set in the Abyss] approaches self-portraits as a means of questioning hierarchy in photography, exploring the duality between fragility, imagination and social representation.