In my work “Origins”, I try to capture the direct connection between our past and our present.
This set of 10 works includes portraits of tribes from different parts of the world and a self-portrait. I decided that it was important to show certain concepts that, in my opinion, have been distorted when we talk about tribes, treating them as a subject that has been buried in the past and not as something very present in today’s society. In my opinion, we have only changed the war marks of the Maasai for make-up, the Maori tattoo for the current tattoos, and this fact is also marked in the use of jewellery, as it continues to be distinctive when it comes to differentiating us from each other. Each of these works hides a social characteristic within the ethnic group to be represented and the place that this has in our society today. By putting my self-portrait together with that of the tribes, I wanted to highlight the direct connection between the past and the present, between myself and its origins.
Through craquelure techniques, this connection is reflected. The current decadence of the tribes can be found in the painting that seems to fall from the canvas itself. On the other hand, the cracks make their way onto the canvas as our origin, thus leaving a space for reflection and self-criticism.
In this project we find portraits inspired by three world acclaimed photographers. Jimmy Nelson (Nederlands), Trevor Cole (Ireland) and Sabrina Nicolazzi (Italy). All of them are masters of tribal photography and the ability in capturing their pure and unfiltered gazes.
