Imaginary Beings showcases Ana Aragão’s unique collection of illustrations of building features which are drawn spontaneously in different forms and shapes, leading the audience to a fairy tale. From small town villages to huge towers, Ana’s illustrations capture the fantastic nature of the endless possibilities when it comes to drawing from imagination. Many buildings featured in these illustrations resemble some places in Macau.
“Ana’s work is endlessly refreshing to look at due to the amount of detail poured into each drawing and, most importantly, by means of objectifying the built environment, i.e. transforming common buildings into single objects of desire without having the need to compromise with the constraints of reality, for instance gravity, makes each building-portrait prone to the viewer’s imagination and empathy,” a statement from the Taipa Village Cultural Association comments.
The work presented in the current exhibition comprises three collections: 1) Structures, drawings in black ink pen, are modular constructions made by the addition of individual cellular houses; 2) Hrönir, a set of 44 drawings that together form the colors of the rainbow utilizing watercolor and black ink pen, are objects produced by the power of suggestion, in which the random contour of a watermark led to the making of an exquisite creature-building; 3) the Almost Blue collection, a bigger version of hrönir, an evolution of the creative process referring to the formation of these imaginary monsters, where randomness and control worked side by side, as the necessary ingredients to extract the awkwardly familiar.
The title of this exhibition hails from the book written by the acclaimed Latin American writer Jorge Luis Borges. It clearly laid a strong foundation for Ana to depart on a search for her own imaginary beings, expanding the ever incomplete work of the visionary master.
Ana has a background in architecture but builds her dream houses in illustrations and paintings. Constantly intrigued by the mental and emotional maps that arise from everyday experiences, she explores that obsession either through the finest lines or by means of a bright and colourful palette. After all, cities are not just about buildings but also about the people who inhabit them, making them human and alive.
6/12/2017 – 21/02/2018
12:00 – 20:00
Taipa Village Art Space
10 Rua dos Clerigos, Taipa, Macau
+853 2857 6118
www.taipavillagemacau.org.mo
