Cecilia Soto

LOVE

Some of the concepts and ideas I have explored in my work are love, relationships and womanhood as well as identity and self. Most of the pieces in some way have a theme of love, whether it be romantic with a partner or friend or self love, I aimed for this theme and feeling to be the main one in my exhibition. My own experiences with love and my own self discovery have encouraged me to make work surrounding this topic. I can look back and now understand and see how the current events of my life subconsciously seeped into my art making. My identity as a woman and my affinity to topics surrounding feminism and womanhood also inspired me and led me down this road. Some of the artists that have influenced me are Suzie Ferrer, mostly in her style of addressing feminist issues, she inspired me greatly in the thought process of my themes and topics. In terms of the materials I used, I chose to explore different mediums such as acrylic on canvas, watercolor and ink. I also wanted to explore different “canvases” such as book pages and the use of different materials such as makeup. I chose these final 11 pieces as I felt they told a story that connected to my theme of love in both obvious and abstract ways. Originally in regards to the arrangement of the pieces, I wanted it to feel like a sort of timeline as I had a more linear vision for my work, but as the pieces were getting made and the vision continued to change, it stopped being linear and the topics, I began to feel,  were too broad for the specific timeline arrangement I was envisioning before. Due to this, I switched into a more free and non-linear arrangement. I want it to feel put together kinda messily, organized chaos created by emotion. The way it is arranged hopefully will communicate with the viewer a free spirited, youthful energy, a feeling of weightlessness and unimportance in the grand scheme of things. Within this there is still an implied timeline. From the innocence and simple feeling  of new found love, to the introspective element of these emotions, the pieces suddenly get darker and more cathartic, to then finally a bright release. The connection between the artwork and the intended audience, which for me is young adults around my age, I hope that they can relate or feel drawn to the pieces and their intended meaning. Again, as it is quite broad, I hope that an individual can find whatever they need through the pieces, see their experiences through the work.