“How do girls and women con­sti­tu­te their expe­rien­ced world throu­gh their move­ment and orien­ta­tion in pla­ces? What are some of the fee­lings of ambi­va­len­ce, plea­su­re, power, sha­me, objec­ti­fi­ca­tion, and soli­da­ri­ty that women have about bodies, their sha­pe, flo­ws, and capa­ci­ties? (I. Marion, 1991) 

New Moons emer­ges as a respon­se to Merino’s pre­vious pro­ject Pater­fa­mi­lias (2022), a visual inve­sti­ga­tion into oppres­sion within the dome­stic sphe­re. Whi­le Pater­fa­mi­lias exa­mi­ned the com­pli­ca­tions of patriar­chy, New Moons seeks to make femi­ni­ne resi­lien­ce pre­vail — repre­sen­ting a new begin­ning and a col­lec­ti­ve awa­ke­ning. Deve­lo­ped amid renewed restric­tions on abor­tion laws that under­mi­ne women’s rights, the series reflec­ts on the inva­sion of women’s bodies, the rebel­lion again­st gen­de­red social struc­tu­res, and the impor­tan­ce of edu­ca­tion from the ear­lie­st ages to empo­wer the women of tomor­row. It beco­mes a tran­smu­ta­tion of resi­stan­ce and per­se­ve­ran­ce, a move­ment toward a con­scious and uni­fied social iden­ti­ty.

If Pater­fa­mi­lias dis­sec­ted the mecha­ni­sms of patriar­chal con­trol, New Moons con­sti­tu­tes an elu­ci­da­tion and an inner eclip­se that encou­ra­ges women to be advo­ca­tes for them­sel­ves — women who move beyond vul­ne­ra­bi­li­ty and pas­si­vi­ty to reco­ver from male-domi­na­ted expe­rien­ces. It is about women aban­do­ning vul­ne­ra­bi­li­ty and pas­si­vi­ty, reco­ve­ring from male-domi­na­ted expe­rien­ces, and crea­ting a fer­ti­le ter­ri­to­ry for the con­struc­tion of a more inclu­si­ve socie­ty throu­gh the acqui­si­tion of kno­w­led­ge, aware­ness and fema­le union.