Giovanna Herrera IB Visual Arts 2016 Lincoln School Costa Rica

The Artist Statement / Rationale

by Giovanna Herrera

Since I started my body of work, I began involving nature in it. I knew I wanted to create a high portrayal of nature and its power, but I didn’t know how. I have always been inspired by the way nature works so perfectly and how every little thing connects to another. My theme developed after several works were created. Since the beginning of my body of work, I knew wanted to create something with outer space and the ocean. I am very curious about their immensity and the way they have so many aspects in common. The infinite number of particles and living things that human beings don’t see are present in both the ocean and outer space. All the particles like the plankton in the deep ocean look like stars in the gigantic outer space. I have used the same materials and techniques in different pieces. By doing this, I have created a connection between many of them. I have been able to connect aspects from a painting to a sculpture by using similar techniques or qualities in them.

    The shining particles we can see in space and the ocean have been present in most of my pieces. The majority of my works are made with cool colors or at least have some, which connects them all together. I usually splash paint at the end of every piece to create small dots in it portraying the small particles in nature. This technique connects to my piece “Inner Nebulous” even when being a resin sculpture. I used glitter of different sized to create the idea of stars. “Inner Nebulous” was one of the pieces that had more influence in the development of my theme. The message of this artwork was to express how the human mind compares to outer space. Human beings can see a superficial view of what’s going on in the mind of others. Many people think they know a lot about outer space but there is so much more we don’t know. I thought about this and connected it to human mind since each of us has so much going on in our minds and not all is expressed. After thinking about this, I realized that animals show their expressions more than human beings. This shows nature’s honesty, and perfection. Even though humans are part of nature, we have detached a lot from it. In the sculpture I made called “Alien” I wanted to portray animal honesty and nature power. I made an octopus since scientists consider them to be aliens. The idea that they are aliens connects to my main topic. I wanted to show nature’s power by placing the octopus on top of a moon.

   By making this body of work, I want the audience to get rid of the idea that we know everything and realize how big the universe is. I want the audience to be able to realize how little information we have, not only about outer space and the ocean, but about the people that surround us as well. For the exhibit, I chose a large section to express the immensity that is around us. I decided that adding a dark cloth at the stands which would be perfect because it would create contrast with some works since it has a lot of color in it. By doing this, the audience will focus on the animals and the colorful aspects of my paintings. My overall theme relates mostly with the deeper parts of both the ocean and the skies. I want the audience to feel this depth and feel like they’re not as big as they thought they were. Without adding much detail, the audience will feel this emptiness and lack of knowledge we actually have in this universe.

Alien by Giovanna Herrera

Mixed media, ceramics, acrylics. 40x22cm

This sculpture developed during 3 years. I had thought about this idea since 9th grade, but much more basic. I wanted to express nature’s power by placing an octopus on top of a moon.Octopuses are con sidered to be aliens. This idea made me connect the octopus with outer space. I used gloss to create the octopus’ texture and contrast with the moon.

Brushing the Paint by Giovanna Herrera

Acrylics on canvas. 50x40cm

I made this still life with the purpose to show the beauty behind a finished work. The palette with the paintbrush and the other materials has it’s own beauty as well. Sometimes I feel like I don’t want to clean my materials after painting since they look beautiful all together. I wanted to express one of my largest joys in life which is painting.

Camaronal by Giovanna Herrera

Mixed media, photography, liquid paper. 59x61cm

This image was taken in one of my favorite beaches. It was taken in Camaronal, Guanacaste. This beach has its pureness since it has no construction in it. I took this aerial picture with a drone for it to represent the view from above and from an unusual perspective. The circle in the middle is done with liquid paper. It was my way to connect the ocean with outer space. The circle’s purpose is for it to

look as a planet.

Duzza by Giovanna Herrera

Mixed media 122x76cm

When creating two jellyfish from different distances, I wanted to create contrast and assimilate it with the human mind. Humans see things from far away or maybe superficially and may judge it in that

instant. The yellow one, which is closer is meant to be a representation of the way people start looking beauty when they get a closer view on it. I used glue with yellow color in the closer one to represent clearness and dark blue in the further one to create the opposite.

Inner Nebulous by Giovanna Herrera

Mixed media, resin, glitter, cotton, food

coloring

When I think about the small amount of view we have on outer space, I think about human mind. We can see superficially what a person is feeling, but the feelings they’re having in the moment, no one is going to be able to understand as well. This piece’s purpose was to show the superficial view when the ball is complete, but when it’s broken in half like the one in the middle, the audience can see the insight.

Insecta by Giovanna Herrera

Mix media. 114x53cm

When I went to Monteverde once, I had the experience to dissect insects. When looking at the insects with a microscope, I started to realize the beauty in each of them and all the patterns they have. The purpose of this artwork was to express how close-minded we are at times. We don’t take a closer look at thing which may carry beauty.

Milky Way by Giovanna Herrera 

Acrylics and spray paint. 46 x 61cm

We are used to watching the night sky and seeing a few stars. I wanted to portray what really surrounds us. The purpose of this was to show the immensity around our planet and how little we

think about it. I used a palette knife and spray paint to create the negative space which is the Milky Way Galaxy.

One by Giovanna Herrera

Mixed media, acrylics, yarn, glue

102x76cm

Through this piece, I wanted to give the message that nature is one. We are part of nature as well. All the bodies of nature are united. I used the yarn to portray this bond present. The seahorses don't have a face and were painted with all those colors to express that there’s a universe inside every creature. The curly brush strokes and the continuous dark blue linesrepresent knots which unite everything together.

Self-Portrait by Giovanna Herrera

Oil paint. 30x40cm

When making my self-portrait I decided to make myself with my senior shirt. I did this since I knew this was gonna be a memorable year. I added lots of color to portray the joy in enjoying the last moments of high school. The high contrast in my self-portrait relates to the contrast and life in this time period I’m living right now.