what mediums do i use? i primarily work with video art, sound and installations. the main equipment i use are video cameras, projectors, t.v monitors, and voice recorders. i film my own footage and record my own sounds, but i also utilise found footage in my work. i believe that video art is very accessible due to the rise of the digital age and has been extremely relevant during the covid-19 pandemic, in order to share art around the world. working with video was a form of adapting to the current times and to new ways of making. i also utilise printmaking as a medium because i like colour and the way i have less control over the form of how the colours mix in the process.
how is my process? the process starts with me selecting the necessary video and sound recording equipments and experimenting with them - working out how to use the equipments to their potential in a creative and playful way. i make sure to record all my experimentations so that i will have content that i can choose to either discard, keep or explore further. from this, i create a narrative for the work that mostly consists of words. it is mostly intuitive; i write what comes to my head in a state of flow. i then go through the selective process of deciding which ideas are stronger than others. i always take photographs of the creative process, which gives me material to expand my body of work. this allows me to transition my work into different artistic processes, such as printmaking.
what/who is the subject of my art? my art explores themes of displacement, in-betweenness, duality and fragments of time (memories). in my art i try to portray messages of identity, and how external circumstances influence the ‘self’. as a consequence, i use my art as a way of understanding my own experiences of displacement and my perception of the world – people and culture.
who/what are my influences? the main artists that influence my work are John Akomfrah, Anna Maria Maiolino and Andrei Tarkovsky. Akomfrah has a cinematic feel and approach to his work with big-screen quality, but inserts his work into a more artistic setting by displaying his work in galleries. he is a constant reminder of the quality of work i strive to make. Anna Maria is relatable to me through her life story and how she uses her own experiences as an influence to her art, as like me she also experienced displacement. she also works with printmaking and installations/performance like me. her connection to Brasil resonates with me, as well as how she is influenced by her birth country. Tarkovsky is a prime example of a hybrid artist, blending cinema with art by the incorporation of artistic scenes and abstract ideas that are unconventional for mainstream cinema. this boundary pushing is something i try to do, which i believe comes from a very optimistic hope for the future. brazilian music and traditions, more specifically north-eastern, also provides me with a plethora of inspiration; they serve as contrasts to my british identity and belonging, as i navigate the wonders and woes of being displaced.