Wendy Cortez
Untitled, 2021
Acrylic on canvas
dimensions variable
Rooted in my experience as a queer woman of color, Enredando offers a creative expression of the intersectional identities in which I exist. To further understand how my identities transcend the physical limitations of my being, I have created a mixed-media piece to reveal my emotions through realism and abstraction.
This work is intended to articulate the importance of appreciating the beauty of my identities as I move through different spaces. Experimenting with material objects to construct a physical manifestation of the beauty I find within myself allows me to explore and challenge the depths of my limitations. Taking inspiration from Mathias Goéritz and Luis Barragán’s theory of “emotional architecture,” a form of modernist architecture that interacts with surrounding atmospheres, I am able to influence space using my art and ultimately convey freedom from physical boundaries.
In order to bring my experiences to reality, I have created a life-sized sculpture of my body using plaster gauze and armature wire. The sculpture appears realistic yet reveals distortions and imperfections that symbolize memories and scars. Adorned with a variety of materials such as mosaic tiles–both painted and reflective–marbles, paint, etc. I am able to reimagine my emotions through various shapes and colors. Each tile is specifically painted and placed to the stories I carry on my body. (symbolic nature of each material)
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