Navidad en Uruguay

Hace un mes ya que estamos en Montevideo. Me estoy quedando en la casa de mi tia. No hay cable. Hay cuatro canales. Con mi novio somos los ultimos en acostarnos y miramos la tele a oscura (si no la UTE nos arranca la cabeza). Me gusta que figura la temperatura y el horario en casi todos los canales. Despues de pelear con la antena para que se pueda ver una imagen mas o menos saque unas fotos. Me vienen muchas ideas creativas a esta hora. No se porque. Justo que estoy a oscura y no puedo anotar nada.

In Montevideo, Uruguay

I'm currently in Montevideo visiting family and friends as well as researching for my next project. The elections have come and gone, the political party Frente Amplio has retained power and we have a new president: Pepe Mujica. The same terrible Tele Novelas are on TV from Argentina and Brazil. The weather is unpredictable, one minute sunny and warm the next rain and storm. But what I love most about being 'home' in the country where I was born is revisiting places and memories from my childhood.

Rebirth, Gallerysmith. Paper objects (December 2008)

Book Urchin. Approx 6cm diameter, 5cm high unframed. Encased in perspex cube

The Poetics of Colour. Approx 11.5cm diameter, 5cm high

Great Narratives. 15cm diameter, 3.5cm high.

Jezebel I. 11cm diameter, 2.4cm high.

Race and Darwinism. 12cm diameter, 2.5cm high.

For the end of year Gallerysmith group show I exhibited a series of paper objects made from various books and papers. The texts used include The Painted Queen by Olga Hesky based on the old testament and the life of Jezebel and range of other texts by Jeremy Bentham, Abigail Solomon-Godeau and Michel Foucault.

Each paper object is individually housed in a clear perspex custom built circular case. Some can be displayed flat on a tabletop or can be hung directly on to the wall.

Upcoming exhibition curated by Sarah Evans

Opening is next Tuesday 27th October 5-7:30pm at Kudos gallery, 6 Napier Street Paddington.

La Rambla (The Promenade), 2008

La Rambla (The Promenade), 2008. Collage/hand cut inkjet prints. Unique state. Series of 6. Each 25 x 20cm

When surveyed, Uruguayans responded that the most iconic and culturally defining urban site was the Rambla or the Promenade. When I returned to Uruguay for a holiday after a ten year absence, I took a series of images at the Rambla. The resulting body of work makes use of a selection of these images to form the filling for the inside of my gaping mouth. My mouth is not only the site from where I express my native language of castellano but it also becomes a site where I physically ingest cultural experience, through food and drink. La Rambla is an attempt to connect with my cultural heritage and explore the strong ties between identity and place.

Xodo 2008

Eu So Quero Um Xodo loosely translated from Portuguese means I only want a love. Xodo is a traditional Brazilian country love song. I learnt of this song through my father, who sings it beautifully. In this series of self portrait works I play the role of a Mulatta, both highly desired and scorned. She lives between two worlds, both master and slave. Her defiant and questioning gaze reinforce her status as a rebel and a threat to the established order. Can a woman like this find real love?

Textile work at Gallerysmith (October 2008)

Superstition, A.K.A and Negra, Mulatta, Parda all from 2008. Installation images courtesy of Gallerysmith.

Tharunka Issue 04, Edition 54

You'd better keep quiet as featured in Tharunka, UNSW Student Voice magazine,
Issue 4, Edition 54, p.19

Choking Hazard (2007)

Manipulated hosiery, hand embroidery, beading and steel fencing staples shown along with a series of inkjet prints.

Face to Face 2007

Face to Face is a self produced book containing my early self portrait works from 2007 and 2008. Full colour, 40 pages, soft cover 6" x 8" (15 x 20cm). Comes with artist's postcard and signed by the artist upon request. Printed to order AUD$30 + postage. Enquiries paula (at) pradomarin.com.au

It's a (bloody) Good Time to be Black 2007

It's a (bloody) Good Time to be Black 2007
Hand manipulated inkjet prints. Unique state. Each of the works illustrated above 33 x 44cm framed. There are 7 works available in this series. Exhibited at Gallerysmith, North Melbourne July 2009. For curatorial or sales inquiries please contact Gallerysmith

It's a (Bloody) Good time to be Black are a series of self-portraits, which explore my personal concerns of authenticity, legitimacy and identity.
Has history ever shown it is a good time to be part of a minority? Is skin colour like everything else now; just a fashion, a trend? How can I talk about my experience of being of mixed race from a relative position of privilege? Where can I position my voice when history, art and popular culture are dominated by the African-American experience?
It is only through the one-on-one conversations I have with my reflection in the mirror that I feel able to explore these questions.
The act of putting on a face and acting up in front of the camera allows me the freedom to embody alternative identities, which take up historical and cultural themes. In each transformation, I am seeking to come closer to my Afro-Uruguayan roots; to link with the ancestors I know so little about.
The photographs themselves are small and dark, covered in black ink, scratched and scarred. The facial expressions suggest the poses were captured in mid-movement; more like sequential stills from a performance captured on video. Simultaneously fascinating, curious and disturbing, these images are an intensely personal exploration of self.

Untitled 2007

You Better Keep Quiet (2007)

Take My Lead (2006)