This art exhibition is centered around the constant journey I have been on which is truly understanding who I am. The body of works not matching in appearance was done intentionally as a way to further show how unpredictable I can be. However, all the artworks are related to the theme of Self Identity which connects them as a whole. My cultural background is one thing that inspired me to create my pieces the way I did. Mexican Culture at first glance is bright and lively which is what I wanted to capture and convey in my exhibition. In order to carry that same first impression I made sure that my color palette was exponentially bright, so I used warm colors, for some I utilized glitter or shredded iridescent shreds of plastic. I went into IB art as a painter, for some pieces I have manipulated the mediums and mixed them to further support my intentions for the theme. Since the exhibition is centered around who I am I wanted to also dive into exposing my dark self, I wanted to give some light to fears.
See Me is an abstract portrait mobile inspired by Pablo Picasso and Alexander Calder. In this mobile there is one wavy side and on the opposite side it's straight. It shows my struggles of accepting my physical appearance, growing up I would struggle with accepting my wavy hair and would often straighten it. The following piece, Beam Of Hope, is a representation of the lengths my parents have gone to support me and my siblings in our dreams. The sun symbolizes hope and our goals, although it may be far there is a guided path towards it. The greenery is common flowers found in Mexico. Some of the butterflies accept the length they have gone and settle on a flower while some are flying and disappearing into the distance.
My next piece, Memories Afloat, is a memory that my mother talks about to all my siblings. Although it may seem like a memory, it is more than that, it has become a tradition that is passed down. I created this piece on cardboard and placed watercolor as a base for the colored pencil details I would then put in. Inspired by the Fauvist movement I used colors such as blue to imply shador or to replace the color white and yellow to imply highlighted areas. Sweet Memories is a still life oil painting which contains many traditional objects that are part of the american or mexican culture. These objects are things I grew up seeing and using a lot, for example the terracotta dishware and drinking Coca-cola. I also included a piece that dives into my obsession with cats that represent who I am.
My inspiration for Eres sprouted from my investigation of the famous mexican artist Frida Kahlo. She is known for expressing her emotions through art in a raw and detailed manner. My self portrait Eres was done completely in black and white to create confusion between all the lines. Hidden among all the lines is a King Snake and a scorpion, at first glance may appear frightening in person but the King Snake is actually harmless and not all scorpion stings are life threatening. This captures how I can seem serious or intimidating to others but in reality I am very easy going. Near the end there are some darker toned pieces like Thantophobia, The Blues, and my portrait Eres which are my transitional pieces to revealing my fears which make me for who I am. My final piece, Solo Tu, is a wrapping statement to the journey of accepting who I am and I have the power to improve and hold myself back. My abstract portrait is the kite in which I am holding down or letting go. The way I organized my exhibition was by captivating the audience with bright and detailed art that progressed to a much darker palette which then returned to bright colors.
