Bárbara Ramos: Reflecting on the Corporeal, Mental and the Spiritual
An Interview between Round Lemon’s Zest Hall Curator Andreea Pislaru, and Bárbara Ramos, our first artist in residence.
“I bring my view on the affections and bonds that are an intrinsic part of existence and the exploration of my own inner issues, feelings, and uneasiness.”
‘Inner Loss’, 2021 (acrylic on canvas)
AP: You started your artistic journey quite recently which is impressive considering how complex your work is. What were your motivations for making art? When did you realise that being an artist was something you wanted to pursue?
BR: I have always been inclined towards art - I was a very creative child. I liked to create things to show to others, be it writings, drawings, or objects and clothes for my dolls, and in creative classes, I always drew attention. However, I had a hard time in school. I got low scores all the time, and couldn't pay attention in class or study at home, and was constantly sad and feeling incapable. So for me, it was always clear that there was no possibility of a future in a traditional career, studying to pass an entrance exam to get into a good college, and working with something that wasn't creative. I needed to find something that fit my needs.
Because I didn't come into contact with art that much in my life, I didn't understand what it was and what it meant to be an artist, so it didn't cross my mind to become one. The impulse to make art was always there, but I couldn't channel it because I didn't understand it. At the time, I decided to go to fashion design college, but I wasn't feeling happy. One day, my mother took me to an astrologer who was a friend of hers, and the woman told me that my astrological chart was of an artist, and I should make friends who were from the theatre. Out of impulse, I followed her advice in my own way, went into acting and fine arts college, and found happiness. Evoking feelings in people and materialising my thoughts has become something I seek all the time and I feel fulfilled by it.
AP: Apart from being an artist, you are also an actress. Do you see any correlations between what you make and your theatrical performance?
BR: I feel that being an actress has made my body and mind prepared to offer my vision and feelings to others. It has made me understand more about the human being who sees the art, and about the one who makes the art. I have understood myself internally so I can go through my emotions to transmit them to others, and I take this to the canvas. I have also been exploring the use of performance in my work. In quarantine, I missed being on stage to perform, so I made a video performance in which I sewed a tongue prosthesis with a needle for 10 minutes, called ‘Silence’. Before recording the performance, I first made a cloth tongue with filling in a way that I could put my real tongue inside and not get hurt. I sewed some threads at the beginning of it so that I could tie them to my teeth and they would stay attached while I performed. I wanted to physically experience something that I feel internally, regarding not being able to speak and self-punishment, by performing the symbolic act of sewing a tongue together and holding this emotion of fear, pain, and being unable to speak. It was the first time I had done something like this alone, and about something so intimate.
‘Silence’, 2020 (performance)
AP: Most of your work is produced using crayons and I can’t help myself but think about the meaning of the act of using this medium itself. It requires a particular depth and concentration to create a mark and the intensity of this act can determine the strength of the colours. Two contrasting examples are your pieces ‘The Fight’ and ‘Desabrochar’; while the first one is dynamic and aggressive in gesture, the second one is entirely smooth, gentle - fluid I would say. What is your approach to using crayons as your primary medium? What does it say about your sense of control over your art processes?
BR: Crayons are a very expressive medium, and I use all my senses while making artwork with them. The noise of the crayon is louder than oil paint, for example. It requires more of my body and hands, to put pressure, and to make lines and fill spaces. I feel like it obligates me to move, and even though when I am using it, I am more expansive than with other mediums, I feel more intimate and connected. I feel like mistakes don't exist with this medium, because they can be easily transformed. I can rub the paper with my hands and marks are gone, and mix colours on the surface. Maybe there is a relation to feeling like a child, having fun and making a mess, or maybe there's something primitive about it, like the drawings in the caves from thousands of years ago. With crayons, I have direct contact with the final result, to the mark that I am making on the paper. With watercolours, the water decides where to go, and what mark it's going to make, so I have to be gentle, and know that I don't have total control of it. And each medium gives me a feeling that is not only useful to evoke some particular emotion in the viewer and a message but also for me to feel it while I am making it.
Desabrochar, 2022 (watercolour on A4 paper)
The Fight, 2021 (pastel on paper)
AP: ‘The Fight’ is one of the works in the show that I am most drawn to because of its raw energy and aggression which I associate with people’s animal characteristics. Is this something you are curious about? How do you address the corporeal relationship between humans? How about the spiritual?
BR: I like to say that these beings are detached from the material world, and all that is left is their ego, essence, emotions, and the relationship that exists between them. In a way, this is an animal-like way of living, through their impulses only. Many of my pieces have representations of beings that are so connected to the point of being one, and this is my view on being human. The impact we have on each other is enormous, not only in our closest relationships but also in those where we have almost no information about each other. In my vision of the spiritual, this impact is even greater, so that our energies influence the energy and the life path of the other. Many times we do not see how much we are influenced, and how sometimes we are held hostage by relationships, unable to disengage physically or emotionally. In some of my works I speak about the comfort in the connection, and in others I speak about the despair in it, bringing this duality of relationships and life.
AP: Does the medium dictate your composition? What about the energy and the tension of your work?
BR: The medium usually comes first. I get a calling for the medium like I needed to feel the brush in my hand, or the crayon, the surface, the wet or dry medium. It is like my hand is hungry and is calling me for its daily food. Then I think about what is the theme that fits the medium and what I can talk about with the materials that I have or want to use. I usually have the composition in a sketchbook already, where I put all my ideas. When it's time, I grab some of my ideas to explore with the materials and surfaces. If it's something more complex, or something new, the process is completely different, involving a lot of studying and writing, with composition and colour studies. Writing about the meaning and feeling that I want to convey and where they come from, is a fundamental part of the process. When I am making a piece, all the emotions come to the surface, the anger or discomfort being the main ones. I believe that the way I paint or draw is a reflection of my thought process during the creation and the way the medium feels to me.
Pulsar, 2021(oils on canvas)
AP: In your Artist Talk, you described your figures as “creatures” which is understandable when thinking about your drawings' abstract organic forms. However, I find it intriguing since some of them take the form of human beings. In view of your interest in the subconscious and human existence, how do you see yourself in relation to your art? Is your work an interpretation of your relationship with your subconscious?
BR: Definitely. I believe that the subconscious mind moves us, and records experiences that go beyond what is logical, and what we know. A few years of therapy and research have helped me uncover the meanings of my experiences and my thinking. I am very fond of hypnosis, and use this and other resources to find within myself narratives for my creations. I am always asking myself questions, about everything I am feeling, and everything I see and trying to answer them, even if the answers don't make sense. I like to materialize what seems immaterial, and delve into what hurts me or brings me pleasure, my desires or repulsions, trying to bring to the surface what is deep inside.
Figuras IV, 2021 (pastels on paper)
Figuras V, 2021 (pastels on paper)
AP: Are there any artistic influences that shaped your practice?
BR: I don't know if it's the best practice, but I avoid influences as much as possible, even though it's inevitable. I pay a lot of attention to what I do with the inspiration I get from other artists because sometimes we think we are just getting inspired, but we might be copying and not realizing it. And speaking my truth and my story is something relevant to me. However, I get a lot of inspiration from the artists from my country, I always get blown away. I believe we have a powerful force in Brazilian contemporary art, a good variety, and authentic voices. I see our culture and struggles that overflow in the artworks, our multiplicity, and our liveliness. Besides that, I love works from the expressionism period. They have always resonated with me and at the beginning of my artistic journey, I drew a lot of inspiration from them.
AP: What are you working on at the moment? Do you have any projects or future plans in the pipeline that we should look out for?
BR: I have an important project in the making right now, which is an animation for a music video for a Brazilian band that will come out in a couple of months. I am also planning to integrate video and photography into my works, doing a mix of performance, editing, and using poetic writings and physical works. My research now is to create an experience beyond just painting and drawing and see where that takes me. I want to explore different mediums being combined in a series of artworks, and I have many ideas coming to the material world soon.
Labirintite, 2022 (watercolour on paper)
AP: Do you like cats?
BR: Yes! I have 11 of them.
