ARTIST PROFILE: LIZ RAMOS-PRADO

Biography:

Liz Ramos-Prado is a Peruvian Visual Artist, currently based in London. She obtained her BA in Arts and Graphic Design at Pontifical Catholic University in Perú and recently completed her MA in Design Management and Cultures at London College of Communication, University of the Arts, London. In recent years, Liz has been actively involved in numerous collective and solo exhibitions, displaying drawings, paintings, installations, and video art.

In the last couple of years, by using a ballpoint pen as an art-making tool, Liz renders medium format, detailed portraits, sometimes combined with watercolors and acrylics. The translucent quality of the ballpoint pen ink allows her to work on multiple layering to create rich variations of tones from light to dark. 

Her work is a continuous visual exploration of the complexity of the human self, emotions, and relations; inspired by the surroundings, people, and everyday realities. Taking women as the main subject, Liz develops figurative feminine representations combined with refined and intricate line compositions, impregnated with some tints of surrealism manifested by the occasional presence of animals and nature as companions with strong symbolic meanings. Her artworks are a personal reflection of the inner nature of being a woman. These depictions evoke diverse emotional states as a response to the external stimulus generated by the surroundings. The works show strength and at the same time vulnerability, a sense of serenity accompanied by a defiant glare, striving to connect the spectator with their own thoughts and experiences.

With a versatile figurative style, Liz combines techniques from traditional drawing to digital art. Her artworks have been exhibited in different art shows in the UAE, the US, Perú, and the UK.

Liz Ramos-Prado

Works:

Twins

25.5 x 20.5 –ball point pen on moleskine

Red Stars

25.5 x 20.5 –ball point pen on moleskine

Day

31 x 23 cm - ball point pen on moleskine

Night

25.5 x 20.5 –ball point pen on moleskine

Indelible

25.5 x 20.5 –ball point pen on moleskine

Liz Ramos-Prado is paired with Gitanjali Kolanad and to read the poem "What’s left" that was inspired by "Night" and other poems, visit Gitanjali.

Artist Statement:

Imposed, sudden solitude. A moment for self-reflection allowed, for the imagination. A granted period of time to self indulge, to wander, and get lost in the labyrinth of the mind. A constant, uninterrupted state of silence that grants the opportunity to listen just the sound of your own thoughts and to run wild in the world of ideas, imagination, dreams, and desires. The ephemeral gift to escape from the trap of reality, logic, and rationality. Life as a dream, a dream that may become reality. Those memories already - reality and dreams - get confused, entwined, diffuse more every day, difficult to recognize what was real or not, they become one. After all, what is life if it is not a constant chaotic, confusing, crazy, and amazing dream?

We human beings are naturally social creatures, aiming for connections, company, and interaction. In the beginning, this forced period of isolation was probably seen as the perfect scenario to allow plenty of time to concentrate, to get inspired, and to get things done. Isolating and blocking ourselves for a while, (most of the artists are used to a period of self-imposed isolation), from external distractions can actually ignite creative ideas, give a sense of order and control, and embolden our human spirits. This time was different, getting focused, and getting things done was actually a real challenge. 

The abrupt change from the noisy, busy, hectic days, to an unusual constant quietness, certainly provided an extraordinary state of silence which allowed to listen and to perceive what normally was overlooked, ignored, taken for granted. The sound of the wind, the raindrops hitting the window glass, the chirp of the birds. Even sometimes, in those very quiet, hot, and sunny Summer afternoons in my studio in London, I was able to listen to my own breath and if just blocking my right ear with the index finger, I could listen to my heartbeats. The beloved noisy world was replaced for a solemn, quiet, strange silent life. The world was different already.

This new world came with a strong sense of timelessness. A sensation of being present, a need to observe ordinary and simple things with new eyes. The silent reality invited to reflect and to discover alternative meanings for everything. First about the surroundings, then inevitably within the self. 

This series of drawings depicts the intense urge of the dialogue with the self. The eagerness and the need to create a deep connection with the inner feelings and thoughts. By situating the characters in a state of self-contemplation like observing themselves in mirrors, a new world emerges. A new labyrinthine world made of contrasted, diametrically opposed imaginary conversations and sentiments. A world that despite all the efforts still remain strange, distanced, and uncertain.

You can reach Liz Ramos-Prado at:

@liz_rprado

Art & Poem

Vision & Concept by Deepa Gopal

Video by Anoushka Sunil

Intro clip and thumbnail- Vibhin P C

Introduction 

Video edit by Anoushka Sunil

Intro clip and thumbnail- Vibhin P C

CURATOR'S TIDBITS:

The first time I wrote to Gita was as a response to one of her articles about dance and young devadasis, and asking her permission to paint the photo of a young girl whose look was so intriguing and enigmatic that I had to paint her. She, of course, agreed and we have been friends since then. An awesome co-incidence is that Gita has made it to the Longlist of TATA Literature Live! Book of the Year Award! for her work ‘Girl Made of Gold’ and that is about devadasis too. She was also part of my Collateral community video project that I was part of in 2016 Kochi Muziris Biennale, under Kashi Art Gallery. She had even come down to see the Biennale with her fractured palm. Later in 2018 again during the Biennale, she had visited with her friends to one of the group shows I was part of. Every time we met, it was wonderful. Like German, Liz was also part of “It's all Sqaure” that happened in Dubai hosted by thejamjar gallery and organized by The Domino. Most of her works done during those phase stuck with me particularly the ones she had done on boards. Current ones are all on moleskine. I have met Liz scarcely; however, her works brimming with internal dialogues and sentiments are a delight. 

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