Isidora Villarino H.
Santiago, Chile
Website
www.isidoravillarino.com
Social Media
Instagram
How would you describe your work?
My work is a research on architecture and its constant transformation in relation to the human being: the socio-cultural consequences of demolition/construction, the identity and memory of the places we inhabit and/or visit, striving not to forget our history and what has brought us to where we are today. In this sense, my drawings and installations are a reality check from different perspectives, including the subtle relationship with death that is always present in my work, creating a constant sense of unease in the viewer. This is emphasized through a technique where I make images appear and disappear continuously by layering drawings.
What inspires you?
Mainly the city, urban space, and architecture. I am interested in the relationship between humans and their environment, how a place is inhabited, how we appropriate it, and how we constantly transform it according to new needs. The inseparable relationship between architecture and its environment, combining the ephemeral nature of the surroundings with the solidity of the structure, creates a kind of power dynamic where, paradoxically, life always triumphs over death, even being capable of taking over it. Hence my latest project: 'Continuous Facade,' where the image of nature overtaking structures becomes a constant theme after the permanent abandonment of a place. There is a kind of struggle between life and death, with the project reflecting this transition.
Can you speak about your process?
My work tensions time, in my works past, present and future intersect, reflecting on concepts like identity and memory. Thus, the present, besieged by the desires for the future -one that appears better than yesterday- blurs the past and history, our history. Inserted in the coming and going of remodeling: demolition and construction, the spaces we inhabit or use are constantly on the lookout, ephemeral, they run the risk of disappearing. These are elements that I develop in my work and they are part of my research, in a work that often has something archaeological, where I try to keep alive a certain essence of significant spaces at a collective level on a domestic, pedestrian, protecting identity and the memory of certain places of transit, making them our own, reflecting on the way in which we build on sediments of memory. In my work I constantly explore those recesses of memory, one that goes from the ruinous to the luminous, vestiges of another time that stress the present. In my works, this tension is represented in different ways: drawings of pieces of houses, architecture or spaces that with the passage of time have ceased to be what they were or have undergone transformations out of necessity or obligation, translucent images that allow us to glimpse what was and what is, games of light and shadows that reflect a presence prone to disappear.
How did you become interested in art?
My inclination towards the artistic field started at a very young age. I have always been interested in it, and it was also encouraged in my home. I decided to take oil painting classes at the age of 9, and since then, I have gradually carved out my path according to my interests, eventually earning a degree in Visual Arts from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. Since then, I can say that I started working in a more serious manner, offering a personal perspective on universal issues that concern us all. I open questions and challenge certain aspects of daily life that have significant socio-cultural consequences. For me, art is not only about aesthetics. It is about critique, opinion, and questioning from a sensitive and profound perspective.
Do you have any favorite artists, movies, books, or quotes?
More than specific references, I believe my work relates to constant personal fixations, such as the impact of light on a place, the composition of a space, and how we engage with them. It also involves the identity and memory of a building, as well as the places we inhabit and/or visit. These aspects are recurrently observed in walks, books, movies, and museums—a kind of obsession that I pursue and investigate.
