Meet surraul | visual artist and curator

We had the good fortune of connecting with surraul and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi surraul, what’s the most difficult decision you’ve ever had to make?
The most difficult decision is probably choosing myself everyday. I didn’t grow up aspiring to be an artist, to be as expressive and explorative as I am in the things I make but choosing myself consistently keeps me in that creative exploration. I stumble along that path as much as anyone else, but it’s a fight to choose yourself everyday especially when there are all these preconceived notions we’re already born into and ideas of who we should be. It’s radical to choose yourself and it’s simple, just not easy.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My name is Raul Morales Jr but many call me su, short for surraul. I changed my instagram a few years back to surraul to reflect my state of mind and the direction I wanted to take my practice in. surraul at its root is a play on surrealism stemming from surrealism. Yet it also holds my name (raul) and the spanish word su (his, hers, its, theirs). This alias allowed me the space to understand how important it is to create art that is so true to oneself that it fluidly moves between creator and viewer, where the person experiencing is not passive, but active in being able to embrace the experience portrayed as their own. I want to consistently create spaces, worlds, energies, that allow the subjects in them and myself to be completely renewed, free, awake and alive, to be water and take any shape. I love playing with analog formats because of nostalgia and the physicality of them (35mm, vhs, prints, etc). I’m a visual artist at my core. Within visual arts I get to play in whatever realm I want. I can be a fashion photographer and then move to direct a music video (and do it and edit it). I could be a video artist playing with installation then help create someone’s cover art for their album. In the past year I was blessed with the opportunity to curator an art show at These Days gallery this December with the collective I started called GAG!. Since then I’ve realized the importance of curation as a mental space, one where you are consistently making connections across mediums, holding space for artists and art pieces, and ultimately being aware of how to optimize the flow of energy in anything. I started to play with installation softly in 2018 while studying at UC Davis, but fully in 2022 when a great friend and curator named Chaco brought me in to do an installation at a pop up art show entitled “shadow work.” There I installed my first video installation called “Limpieza” which was a mixed media installation of video, found material, photography, and family memorabilia. This cemented in me the want to explore installation more and I will be showing more pieces at These Days as well as a pop up art show I’m working on with my friend Darcy in July for GAG!. About 3 years ago, I started creating music videos with a collective I was in. From then on I went to collaborate with a great friend, a third party controller, to create their first music video for their song “parasite” in 2021. This year I find myself being blessed with more people wanting to collaborate in video but also photography. My most recent music video is for my friend and GAG! Member, brz and his new single “your loss!” which I included a screenshot of and is our third video collaboration together (broken phone and isolates being the other two). Usually for music video work I play under the name “su” to differentiate my directorial and editing mentality vs my overall artist practice although both seamlessly coexist.
It hasn’t been easy choosing a creative path the past 7 years, yet it is the most rewarding experience I’ve found myself in. Being able to create space to feel and experience while also helping to bring people’s sonic worlds into a visual space is everything I love, especially when I can do it with friends. In the process, I’ve learned the importance of breaking bread and sharing space with others as an important part of the creative process for both your individual practice and also collaboration. Half of my ideas wouldn’t come to fruition if it wasn’t for sharing and a community of friends and artists that also support my vision. We must stay curious and connected to our childlike space in these creative spaces, that’s what I believe. We dream for a reason. Play with it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’d for sure take them to avenue 26 taco spot for the potatoes they give you with your tacos! I feel like everyone needs to hit the Japanese garden at the double tree, it’s a secret treasure. In the morning I’d take them hiking at griffith park because it’s beautiful during sunrise then take them to elysian for sunset. We’d probably hit some show happening at a gallery or space (new image, lapau, 2220arts) and finally maybe hit melody lounge or some bar while we wait for a rave in dtla.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
okay I have three. Thank you and shoutout first and foremost to my family (mom, dad, brother, sister, abuela, etc) for always backing me no matter what. Shoutout Amber, my best friend and vibe manager, someone who I run every one of my ideas by and keeps me connected to my childlike wonder. Finally, shoutout GAG! collective, a group that I started with friends in the past year but that holds every bit of my belief in art and life, we’re young in the process but thank you brz, cris, and Demetrius for opening up my mind and everyone else who’s involved for igniting a new light inside me.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/surraul_/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYj4o8bHoITC3nVzkFwOGsg

Image Credits
two of the images are recent portraits one with a queer popstar named Neyva and a great dj name Naygod. Three photos of of my family either showing my aunt, grandparents, or my brother and the star is a thumbnail from brz’s new video for “your loss!” Finally there’s a still from my limpieza installation as well as an image of that installation. Photo of me taken by ian.