Summary5 min read

Daring Forever Podcast – Bonus Episode: “I do enjoy personal projects that are very personal.”

Host: Radim Malinic
Guest: Paloma Rincon (Visual Artist & Photographer)
Date: July 17, 2026

Episode Overview

This bonus episode features a curated deep dive into standout moments from Radim Malinic’s recent interview with Paloma Rincon, a visual artist and photographer renowned for her vibrant, graphic compositions that reimagine everyday objects. The discussion explores Paloma’s creative journey from childhood craft in Mexico to her experimental, tactile work in Madrid; her philosophy on precision versus organic forms; the serendipity of creative accidents; and her stance on digital tools and AI in the visual arts.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Early Creative Instincts and Origins of Set-building

[01:06] Paloma:

Creative focus from childhood: Paloma shares that even as a child, her creativity was focused less on play and more on building imaginative environments.
Physical creation over play:

“I was more interested when I was a child in building this space where my dolls will be living than to play with them.”
Themes of painting, crafting with paper, and creating “physical space” directly translate to her adult work.

Radim’s Reflection:

Draws connection from Paloma’s childhood curiosity to her signature 3D set-building in photography.
“It makes you really join the dots…because you can only join dots retrospectively, never forward.”
[01:43]

2. The “Straight Line” Philosophy

[02:55] Paloma:

First photographic experiences: Her early school project—a photograph of stacked chairs—sparked an appreciation for geometry and straight lines.
Signature tension in work:

“Whenever there’s something that is geometric and straight, it really has to be straight. ... There’s this other side, which is organic and fluid and more as you can find it in nature, let's say.”
Her images juxtapose perfection of geometric lines with organic, natural forms.

Radim’s Take:

Relates to the “graphic designer’s mindset” of needing straight lines to be impeccably straight, even when much of the work is organic.
Wry commentary on less precise studio work:

“…their photos are taken at like, 15 degrees. And I’m thinking, do you guys live on a Titanic?”
[03:56]
Appreciates the detail orientation that sets Paloma’s work apart.

3. Creative Accidents and Iconic Works

[05:05] Paloma:

Embracing happy accidents: Recalls how a neighbor’s disco ball fragment and some metallic materials unexpectedly led to the iconic “disco melon” piece.
Hands-on experimentation:

“So the half disco melon I had was empty. So I had to paste every single little crystal into the disco melon. And that was the first of those images. ... Somehow by accident, by being in the creative flow completely…”
These serendipitous mixtures led to the evolution of a series where everyday items gained surreal, new identities by visual pairing.

Radim’s Perspective:

Marvels at creativity born from play and lack of boundaries between “should” and “shouldn’t” in combining objects:

“…putting things together that potentially shouldn’t be together, yet they are destined to be together.”
[05:57]
Compares Paloma’s visual juxtapositions to the punchline structure in comedy, surprising the viewer and provoking a new perspective.

4. Physical Craft vs. Digital Tools & AI

[07:10] Paloma:

Physicality matters: Firm commitment to working in the physical realm, even as the end product enters the digital world.
Explains her conscious choice to rely on tactile processes rather than shift to CGI or AI-led creation.

“So where I find joy and where I find that I have something to say, because what I grow comes from the process that I follow. So I’m starting to stick to it and to not hear that much the voices…”
Sees AI as a tool—not a replacement:

“…as a tool is a great tool, but I don’t want that to replace my practice and the foundation of my way to create and my craft.”

Radim’s Contextualization:

AI can accelerate the technical side, but the core of unique creative thinking and signature style are “unbeatable by AI.”
Cites designer peer Alana Radek:

“…the execution sometimes is easier and faster thanks to things like AI, but actually it’s the thinking time which is now invaluable…”
[08:23]
For Paloma, authenticity emerges through hands-on experimentation, which maintains freshness and personal signature.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Childhood Creativity:

“I was more interested...in building this space where my dolls will be living than to play with them.”
—Paloma Rincon [01:06]
On Visual Tension:

“Whenever there’s something that is geometric and straight, it really has to be straight. … There’s this other side, which is organic and fluid…”
—Paloma Rincon [02:55]
On Craft and Accident:

“I just got that disco ball because I was also playing with metallic stuff, and then I had a disco melon. So I saw them together and I was, whoa, these two belong together.”
—Paloma Rincon [05:05]
Host’s Analogy:

“When you think about comedians making jokes, they lead you somewhere…then they release you in a totally different direction…”
—Radim Malinic [05:57]
On AI vs. Unique Process:

“I want to stay connected. I don’t want to not know anything about it as a tool is a great tool, but I don’t want that to replace my practice…”
—Paloma Rincon [07:10]
On Creative Reflection Time:

“…the thinking time...is now invaluable because it gives us a bit more space to think about what we want to do, how we want to change things…”
—Alana Radek, quoted by Radim Malinic [08:23]

Highlighted Timestamps

[01:06] – Paloma reminisces about childhood building and creative focus
[02:55] – The origin and power of “straight lines” in her aesthetic
[05:05] – The story and philosophy behind the “disco melon” series
[07:10] – Thoughts on creating physical art in a digital/AI world
[08:23] – Reflection on the value of think time and the irreplaceability of human creativity

Tone & Final Thoughts

The conversation is deeply curious, celebratory of the quirky accidents and intentional details that define standout creative work. Paloma’s candidness and Radim’s insightful, supportive reflections invite listeners to appreciate not just the art, but the very human, evolving process behind it. The episode wraps as a vibrant homage to daring creativity, handmade craft, and the relentless joy of personal projects—regardless of technological tides.

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Transcript9 lines

[00:01]
A
Hey, welcome to this bonus episode of Daring Forever podcast. This is my opportunity to zoom in on a few standout moments from this week's interview, finding those moments that deserve a second look and dig deeper in what makes them special. This week I spoke to Paloma Rincon, who is a visual artist and photographer known for bold graphic photography that juxtaposes the everyday into something entirely new. If you know her work, you know how incredible her colors and compositions are. In our conversation, we traced her journey from Analog darkroom in Mexico to Madrid, where she now lives and works. We talked about many happy accidents and why she believes taste will always be the key to great work. And if you know her work, it's absolutely true. It was indeed a great conversations where I got to see behind the lens of what it means to be daring forever. The episode published a few days ago was titled Dare to make Straight Line Perfect, and you will shortly find out what she meant by that. If you haven't checked out a full episode yet, let me share with you these four standout moments.
[01:07]
B
I think that I always found pleasure and the ability to focus. And when I was engaging in something creative, whether it was painting, I also used to build stuff with paper houses, and I was more interested when I was a child in building this space where my dolls will be living than to play with them. So it's always been more about creating something in the physical space, painting it. So this is something that I was able to put in my work.
[01:43]
A
There's something magical about Paloma's work and as I told her in a conversation, I'm a really big fan. I've been fond of her work since when she used to work with Serial cut, and that's 15 years ago, maybe even more. Her and Sergio were creating absolutely mind boggling work and they were doing stuff in camera in 3D. And I found the way they built their sets and their visual storytelling was absolutely, utterly second to none. Incredible. And obviously hearing a quote like this or hearing her talking about the fact how she was growing up and what she was doing, it makes you really join the dots because you can only join dots retrospectively, never forward. And in this way, I love the fact of getting a few dots from her explaining how she was interested more in building the space for her dolls. And you know, that's kind of led into her work, into what she does now, building all sorts of different sets, still life, juxtapositions of realities. Yeah, it's always magical, even it being this rudimentary, to actually find out how someone's work really came to be from their early childhood pursuits.
[02:56]
B
Yeah, I do. I remember we had to do our first to shoot our first draw, it was at school, so photographed a stack of chairs that was to a wall. So it was something that was very geometric, very architectural. At the same time, it was a lot of straight line. Something that has been following me, the straight lines. And I remember going into the darkroom and seeing how those lines started to show before you would even start to understand the image that was coming from it. I remember it felt special. Whenever there's something that is geometric and straight, it really has to be straight. And this is something, I think, that's kind of tension that I think that you can find in my work. There's something that's like a geometric component that has to be very sleek and perfect. And then there is this other side, which is organic and fluid and more as you can find it in nature, let's say.
[03:56]
A
It took me a while to understand what she meant with know when something straight needs to be straight, because I could see very few straight lines in Paloma's work. There's so much to go on, so much to see in what she does. And often it's organic shapes, sometimes even somehow morphing shapes that are not always based on reality. And I was like, what do you mean about straight line? And when she said it, it's kind of almost like this graphic designer's mindset, because there is something about, you know, placing image reader, something about creating layouts or, you know, taking photography that it just has to be straight. There's a particular studio that shows up on my LinkedIn where their photos are taken at like, 15 degrees. And I'm thinking, do you guys live on a Titanic? What's going on? They are beautiful people and they do great work, but it's me. It's me kind of being here with Paloma thinking, yes, if it's a straight line, it has to be straight. And for the rest, it can be absolutely anything. Despite Paloma having this incredible signature style, I do like that little insight about the detail that she put into her work.
[05:06]
B
I was there by myself, just putting together stuff, and suddenly I had this piece of a disco ball that my neighbor had gave me, and I just took. It was crystals. I love all things reflective and refractive and playing with these very photogenic things. So I just got that disco ball because I was also playing with metallic stuff, and then I had a disco melon. So I saw them together and I was, whoa, these Two belong together. So the half disco melon I had was empty. So I had to paste every single little crystal into the disco melon. And that was the first of those images. When then I started to pair the ice cream cone I had with the cartoons, like all by shape. And this is where the second part of the series started. Somehow by accident, by being in the
[05:57]
A
creative flow completely, people like Paloma made the world better place and bear with me for a second because they explore their creativity and their curiosity for the world in the most beautiful way. So here in Paloma talking about how one of her most famous pieces came together, it's just putting things together that potentially shouldn't be together, yet they are destined to be together. Her piece, which is a disco ball cut through into a melon or it's one of these things that really puts through her working philosophy about the juxtaposition of the real life. Because when you think about comedians making jokes, they lead you somewhere, but you make your assumption and then they release you in a totally different direction and it makes you laugh or makes you upset or makes you triggered. You know, all of this happens because we come to certain situations with preloaded or pre preset answers. And I think being able to see Paloma's work where things that shouldn't be other things, but the things that they shouldn't be coupled with, it's always magical because after all, we need people like her to be showing us of the things that should and shouldn't go together.
[07:10]
B
Because at the end, I work a lot in the physical world, but it's captured and it lasts in the digital space at the end, maybe making it stay in a different way in the digital world. I'm exploring different things because I'm very conscious about the fact that things are changing and I do want to stay connected with what I want to do. So you just have to start doing things in AI. I didn't do it when everything was starting to get done in 3D, like CGI. I was still doing my things physical, even if I was directly competing with that other approach that brought also a lot of solutions to the commercial industry. So where I find joy and where I find that I have something to say, because what I grow comes from the process that I follow. So I'm starting to stick to it and to not hear that much the voices I do hear, I do learn that a little bit about AI. I want to stay connected. I don't want to not know anything about it as a tool is a great tool, but I don't want that to replace my practice and the foundation of my way to create and my craft.
[08:24]
A
Of course, most of our conversations at the moment are hovering over the topic of AI and generative AI and AI generally, what it is and what it means for us. When I see people like Paloma and many others with a super strong signature style, you know that anything like this doesn't really derail their confidence or signature styles or the ways of working because their business practice is rooted in long term vision. Signature styles in creating bold imagery, exploring curiosity for endless creativity will always make a human that's been on a path of explorations for so long. It will make them absolutely unbeatable by AI because AI can smash a lot of things together and we used to do lots of things in Photoshop in more lengthy way, doing thing all sorts of things, creating scams and mock ups just to see if it would work or not. But with AI you just get there quicker and it was my friend Alana Radek from Design is Yummy at the end of the previous season when she talked about the fact that yes, we have more time to think, the execution sometimes is easier and faster thanks to things like AI, but actually it's the thinking time which is now invaluable because it gives us a bit more space to think about what we want to do, how we want to change things, and in Paloma's cases actually how to find the best possible juxtaposition and almost visual psychedelics onto her style that bring something new and fresh into the world. It was great to chat to Paloma. Loads of great insights about what she does and how she does it because I've been fond of her, as I told you, for so long and it's great to know more about what she does. Thank you for joining me on this bonus episode and I'll see you back next week on Monday with my conversation with Simon Dixon. If you enjoyed this episode and would like more accessible resources to help you discover your daring creativity, you can pick up one of my books on themes of mindful creativity, creative business, branding and graphic design. Every physical book purchase comes with a free digital bundle, including an ebook and audiobook to make the content accessible wherever you are and whatever you do. To get 10% off your order, visit novemberuniverse.co.uk and use the Code podcast. Have a look around and start living daringly.