PORTFOLIO

SOUL. EXHIBTION

Through this exhibition, Paloma encourages the public to become mindful of the vulnerability of life by dwelling upon the ephemerality of lived experiences. Centred around processing grief in response to the absence of loved ones, the body of work concentrates around the piece 'Gloria in Excelsis', commemorating the recent loss of a close friend to suicide.

Combined with an audio recording of Catholic choir hymn 'Gloria in Excelsis Deo', the body of work delves into many religious symbolisms and calls towards the catharsis produced by collective mourning, inviting the public to relate feel their emotions fully.

GLORIA IN EXCELSIS

A shocking sight to the public, the hanging figure titled 'Gloria in Excelsis' is a sculpture commemorating the one-year anniversary since the passing of one of the artist's close friends, Gloria. The piece honours those whose deaths are deemed unworthy or taboo by exposing the raw image of suicide to public view, although it is partly censored for sensitive audiences with a trigger warning upon entry, and pieces of translucid lace on the outside of the room which partially hide the scene...

The manual labour behind the piece plays a significant role in its meaning. Through the process of shaping the structural skeleton from a material with an unforgiving nature chicken wire) during over 80 hours of precision work, the artist handwove the pain of loss into her own hands, reflecting a private act of mourning, care, reparation and closure.

Other materials suggest this aim to 'mend back together' what once was a body: while the cardboard imitates flesh, pieces of mod roc replace bandages around the corpse, as if to repair it and fill in the holes - both metaphorical and physical, with the holes in chicken wire. While the ascension of the soul is shown by the lightness and transparency of the latter material, the physical reality is produced by the kicked stool. The delicate lace around the waist of the figure connotates symbols of purity and lost innocence, as well as a burial shroud.

LET THE LIGHT IN

The installation 'Let the Light in' (2025) recreates a church votive candle stand with flameless battery-operated candles. It echoes the commemorative aspect around

'Gloria in Excelsis', while allowing the public to physically interact with the piece by lighting a candle in remembrance of a loved one - a thought or prayer symbolically continued until the candle 'burned' down. Creating a safe platform for collective mourning and recollection, it assembled people through shared feelings of loss and

On the stands were displayed two booklets of 'Confessions', collection of letters to be. browsed by the audience, written in Gloria's memory by her friends.

Other symbolisms were present throughout the space, including specific flowers. Lilies f the valley, which bloom in spring, are typically offered on the first of May (date that Gloria passed away) in France, as a symbol of renewal and hope. Chrysanthemums, historically associated to death in many cultures, are also considered the birth flower of people born in November (as was Gloria).

IN ABSENTIA LUCIS, TENEBRAE VINCUNT/ IN THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT, DARKNESS PREVAILS

'In Absentia Lucis, Tenebrae Vincunt / In the Absence of Light, Darkness Prevails' (2025) is a series of ink paintings from cut-out pictures in the artist's picture gallery. The shapes suggest shadows of people that once were, which are now immortalised in time. These encapsuled memories suggest the soul and essence of beings remaining behind, but their physical absence in the space.

Displayed throughout the venue, the series is first introduced by framing pieces on either sides of the chimney breast in a room shared with Izzy's work 'Traces of Connection'

(2025), an interactive large-scale rope maze where the audience is encouraged to navigate obstacles as they would navigate the complexities of connection in life. The works echo together as they evoke the fluctuating threads binding individuals together, both physical and abstract - but also combine the childhood allusions to play and naivety towards what is to come.

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