Gaby B. Cardenas, Half the sky, 36 x 36 cm, mixed media on handmade paper, 2014
A Buddhist monk once told me, right before a trip to Ecuador, that nothing brings us closer to who we really are than to visit our roots. This is of course not new. A couple of weeks ago while I was in Guayaquil, Ecuador on vacation, two magazines from Seoul and Singapore contacted me for interviews about my artwork and Busan. They had a short deadline so I did it at the hotel terrace, surrounded by church towers and rooftops of colonial buildings.
I must admit that it felt a bit odd and it was hard to put myself in the right mindset partially because back home I am not a known artist (not that I consider myself famous) but a plain girl loved unconditionally by parents and family, also because the focus of the news at the moment was on the war in Gaza, terrorist crimes and wars of perception, which made me reflect over how little we can contribute to change things through activist art. After reflection, I believe that even that tiny contribution, a grain of sand, has a positive meaning, deserve respect and can make a little difference as opposed to being an observer or living with hatred and prejudice which are negative, unproductive and damaging. As a result I decided to take part in a Global Peace Art Festival coming up soon. About the interviews, we’ll see the result in the next months.
In the meantime the exhibition in Berlin I was part of had its Finissage with a live concert with Tobias Thiele. The party also meant the beginning of a new journey and space concept for the gallery owner who ‘hope that Berlin is ready for new concepts of cultural exchange and wants to rediscover art.’
Here is the full catalog including my piece on page 7: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.677000612373483.1073741837.145017482238468&type=1
Gaby Cárdenas 