Oil Paintings

When working on these Jaleos I focused on the idea of reflection. These pieces are inspired by a phrase by flamenco dancer Antonio Canales that impressed me and changed the way I perceive reflection and interact with mirrors. When conducting a master workshop in Boston in 2015, Antonio struggled with the way in which some students were using the mirror. It was obvious to him that when used incorrectly in a class, mirrors could be more of a distraction than a tool, so he stopped the lesson and said this to us:

"El espejo no está ahí pa' mirarse por fuera, sino pa' mirarse por dentro"

(The mirror is not there for you to look at yourself on the outside, but rather for you to see yourself from within)

He encouraged us to find our own eyes in the mirror, to focus on the compass, the essence of the lyrics, the emotion behind the story, and to find what is missing or delve into it if you have found it.

When working on these pieces, I explored form through symmetry and rotation by connecting and disconnecting different areas of the shape. All of the paintings are freehand, so none of them are symmetrical in shape or exact in color. My hope, following Antonio's suggestion, was to help the dancers see themselves from within by working on the "empty spaces" and the angles created by the connection of the form.