Collabarét | Indómita Art Exhibition

Artist: Sarah Zhu
美奴 měi nǚ, c. 2020
Three photo series, acrylic on heavy matte paper
16 x 20 inches

Artist Statement:

"Some women fear the fire. Some women simply become it."
-r.h. sin

The reality is more than one woman has been the most influential person in your life. Being raised in a culturally creative family has blessed me with powerful women in my life who have pushed boundaries for me to embrace my artistic talents. I have been enthralled with my grandmother's past as a film makeup artist; spending days listening to tales of how she spent hours practicing her painting on an actor's face. Meanwhile, my mother had grown up as a working musician playing the Chinese instrument pi ba in orchestras of opera theaters. Both women have pushed aside their artistry to raise me in a foreign country.

As first generation, these women have paved the way for me to hone the skills I developed to give me the opportunity to make it in the world they left their home country for. They have taught me how to love unconditionally with my art and the power it has to translate my voice.

My work is a peek into my family of strong and creative women in the form I see them as. I use the blend of warm tones, because I wish to evoke the feeling of comfort and feminine contrast from my mixture of mediums. Often subjects are shown as isolated beings in a surrounding that projects them, but in this case I wish to illustrate the fused auras that emanates from them visibly to me. Using soft focus and color blends, this special collage of imagery celebrates the women and how they have left a mark into who I am now.