Meet Ciara Mendez | Creative

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

Hi Ciara, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
There’s a line in the song 17 by Youth Lagoon that goes, “When I was 17, my mother said to me, don’t stop imagining. The day that you do is the day that you die.” For me simplicity hits harder which is why I love this part. As a teenager, it was one of my favorite songs, but I didn’t actually hear/listen to the words until I was older.
It reminds me of a story my mom shared about when she first started dating my dad. He brought flowers for her parents and showed her a “trick” to make them last longer: cutting the ends of the stems. She was impressed and told my grandma about it, but my grandma just laughed and said, “Honey, I’ve been telling you that your whole life.”
Sometimes, we already know what we’re meant to do, but it takes time to listen to yourself and the people around you.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My work is about embracing imperfection, capturing the surreal in the ordinary, a lot of laughs with a lot of colors in photography, and creative direction. I focus on surrealism, transformation, satire and the fragmented way we experience life. I gravitate toward raw, imperfect visuals that capture both the beauty and discomfort of everyday moments, often blending personal narratives with broader themes of identity, culture, and memory. Moving to Mexico City was a turning point, it was there I discovered my passion for street photography and built meaningful connections with people who actually saw me as a creative. I felt like I was a cosplayer for a while before that, but not exactly sure if I was cosplaying what I wanted to be or who I was showing. What helped me is the more I worked with people, the more I realized we are all just making it up as we go.

The more I’ve bet on myself the more I’ve been rewarded, so I would just want people to do that for themselves.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would try to fit in Dave N busters, Momo Toys, Shatto Bowl, the little magazine spot on Ventura BLVD, a peak at the beach, mario kart at my friends apartment, some gallery shows, a movie or two at the alamo or vidiots, house parties, get some pho in Alhambra if we get hungover, a hike at griffith park and then pretend like we’re holding the Hollywood sign, got a donut in Van Nuys (there is one on every corner), Pilates and then split an Erewhon smoothie, take photos at the Cha Cha lounge for hotness documentation, a flea market because I love shopping and my bestie probably does too, and end with Thai food. Maybe some conversation in between.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Everyone that I’ve ever had at least more than a 30 minute conversation with. I’ve been very lucky to speak to some of the funniest, smartest, and most lovely people all over the world. In particular Alix Bortoli- for being one of the first people to take a chance on me, Lisette Poole- for letting me follow her around and pick her brain while on the job, Hiram Matute- because life didn’t really start until he showed me that you can and should invest in yourself/brain. Also, the couple of crappy jobs/people that pushed me to steer my life toward what I truly want to do.

Website: https://menaceonthelaptop.com

Instagram: https://ci.chica

Linkedin: Ciara Mendez