Cecilia Paredes

Multimedia Contemporary Artist

Philadelphia via Lima,

San Jose, Costa Rica and, Madrid

“Who l am is a political person,” said acclaimed artist Cecilia Paredes. “I do not rest in indifference with any of the world issues or the wonders of nature.”

Cecilia is one of life’s seekers and her work in art is continuous. “You start, finish, start again, like a weaving, the last thread gives way to the next one,” she explains. Not constrained by one artistic disciple Cecilia moves easily from one disciple to another: sculpture, installations, painting, engraving, or performance. Deriving inspiration from four sources: history, mythology, poetry, and politics, these are her points of departure and when in need of an idea, she reads.

Cecilia is currently based in Philadelphia and has been since mid-March due to COVID-19 where only a week before she was in Madrid participating in Arco art fair. Pre-pandemic, in her ‘parallel world’, she works between Philadelphia, Madrid, San Jose, Costa Rica. Cecilia began life in Lima, Peru.

“I lived in Lima continuously until l was 24. l started to travel first to study abroad but then at age 33, for political reasons, l left Peru and have never been back to stay. But Peru never left me. l still have strong relations with it. l am aware of all the conflicts which generates this love-hate relationship. You must have read about the recent political turmoil in Peru, even now as l write we have no president.”

Cecilia’s series of works based on the idea of camouflage has captured international attention, a series the artist herself talks of as her “landscapes.” Elaborate and exquisitely decorative panels in which she seemingly disappears; a bold vision of hiding in plain sight. The concept of disguise as duality can be viewed through the phrase “now you see me, now you don’t”.

“When migrating, everyday life is slow you must address another language, another politics, other ways and you also have to address your own loneliness which is always present despite the happiness. When I started doing the landscape series I was inserting myself in my new territory in some works, and longing for the lost world in other works.

“l began my “landscape’ series in 2004 to address the subject of re-location and adaptation to my new geography. The aim, to become part of the landscape. I started to do the performance where I appear camouflaged or almost integrated into the background that surrounds me.

“The illusion of “disappearing” into the surroundings is an act of blending in. The motivation is re-location after displacement and migration. Without forgetting our origin, one must adjust to belong. It is tough but it has to be done.

“The process starts the week prior to shooting where we discuss what we are going to do. ‘We’ being my assistants involving a painter, a lighting technician, personal assistant, a photographer, and me. We discuss the theme, do some rehearsal. Later I drape the fabric if the location is in my studio. I set the whole atmosphere prior to the moment of shooting.

“On the day of the shooting we start at 7:00am, usually finishing around 3 pm. I use make-up, body paint, or any costume that I need to achieve the image. We work in absolute silence, no background music, phone, or interruption. Once we are ready, the actual shooting is six to 15 minutes, that of course leaves us in a state of elation.”

The environment, history, personal life, experience, all contribute to change. Art changes despite pursuing the same idea. In 2018, when Cecilia  felt at home, the series started to take a new path, the ground disappeared and the character is now the landscape, as in the piece called Dorsal where the background is all black, not needing it as support. And a new series called Abandoned where the artist inserts herself in abandoned sites, where life used to be and is now gone. An experience she describes as “quite a disturbing coincidence given what we are all living right now.”

Impeccable detail, design, and composition are hallmarks of the completed images. As has been revealed Cecilia is an artist of strong political and social conscience, bursting with humanity, revealing a sense of playfulness, teasing us to see further, look deeper, ask more questions. Driven by climate change and the ecological state of the world Cecilia’s response is more overtly performance-based pieces; her spine a line of dragonflies, or a frog poised beside a rock pool.

“The dragonflies posing on my spine are wings that gave me, and all women, the possibility to fly. I started to interpret animals out of love and admiration. Marginal animals, the ones l feel comfortable with like armadillo, fish, skunk, or snake. Again, I use body paint, but the surroundings give context to think about a solitary animal. Climate change or ecological conscience are implicitly intertwined in my work.

“I was invited to participate in a project at Lake Cooroibahin, Queensland. Every morning early, to beat the heat, l would go and work alone until before noon. First l checked the water, and every morning a curious white spotted ray would come to check me. She became my company; l anticipated her visit. Every morning she always showed up, just came, said hi, and left. Who can ask for more?”

Cecilia’s work describes her life.

For more information on Cecilia visit: https://thegodlesstraveller.com/in-plain-sight/