RAINBOW
By María Medem
Seven colours. Seven visual poems.
In Rainbow, Spanish artist María Medem deconstructs the spectrum. Inspired by the way certain sounds and childhood memories evoke specific hues, she has created seven wordless narratives—one for each colour of the rainbow.
Each chapter functions as an independent story, yet they are linked by a central figure (a monkey who collects the colours) and recurring motifs of water and reflection. Medem treats the book as a form of animism; in the absence of human dialogue, the environment itself speaks. The narrative tension arises not from words, but from the encounters between beings and their surroundings.
Visually, the work is stunning. While known for her digital colour, Medem’s process here began with pencil drawings, later inked and coloured to match the "ethereal" quality of her memories. The result is a book that feels like a film by Yasujiro Ozu or Abbas Kiarostami—quiet, contemplative, and deeply focused on the mystery of connection.
December 2025
First edition of 2,500 copies
19,5 × 27,5 cm, 160 pages
Modified 4PMS Offset
About the Artist
María Medem is a Spanish artist and illustrator whose work is defined by its silence and atmospheric tension. Based in Seville, she draws inspiration from a diverse range of sources—from the "ethereal" lyrics of Flamenco to the contemplative cinema of Agnes Varda and Alice Rohrwacher.
Medem’s practice explores the fluid boundary between the human and non-human worlds. Often working without words, she uses colour as her primary narrative tool, creating "visual poems" that invite the reader to slow down and observe. While she often works digitally, her recent exhibitions (such as at Librairie Sans Titre in Paris) have marked a return to physical media, showcasing original pencil drawings and watercolours that highlight the tactile foundation of her art.
