Vol.127_ANA MONTIEL
ANA MONTIEL
INTERVIEWED BY OH JIYOUNG
from Mexico, United Mexican States
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What kind of artist are you?
Honestly no idea, I don’t pay much attention to definitions as I believe we can all be constantly changing. If we identify with a label, it will be more difficult to continue evolving, changing and letting go of things that aren’t aligned with us anymore. The less defined life is, the freer it can be in my opinion.
When did you start drawing the picture?
There’s this funny photograph from my childhood in which I am 3 or 4 years old and I’m painting a little canvas that is on an easel in front of me while I’m siting on a wicker rocking chair, with a big smile on my face. Both my parents were lovers of the arts. My father focused on music and my mum on the visual arts. My passion for painting, dancing, writing and making things was always nourished; and signing up for art school when I was 16 felt like the right thing to do (I turned out to be pretty lucky as the art school I attended was quite hands-on and promoted close and friendly idea-exchanges between students and teachers, I learned a lot during my time!).
What kind of ‘theme’ does your work mainly talk about?
I’m quite focused exploring the nature of consciousness through my work. I’m reflecting on the limits of the human experience, questioning how solid is our perception and delving into ideas borrowed from neuroscience and other disciplines, like the notion of reality being just a controlled hallucination.
What kind of works are you doing lately?
I’m making new large format paintings and working on a big art installation for the outdoors gallery Josegarcia, mx has in Merida (MX). Apart from these, I continue with my research, taking the ideas further and planning new things for next year.
What kind of works are you doing lately?
I’m making new large format paintings and working on a big art installation for the outdoors gallery Josegarcia, mx has in Merida (MX). Apart from these, I continue with my research, taking the ideas further and planning new things for next year.
Who is the most influential artist in your work?
I think that the figure that has influenced me the most may be Carl Jung. He was not an artist per se (although he drew wonderful imagery on his “Red Book”) but his knowledge, research and reflections have influenced me deeply through the years.
What are you crazy about recently?
I’m pretty obsessed with reflecting about what I’m calling at the moment “the tidal lock of perception”. The way we are wired as humans has an impact in our perception. We are co-creating and modifying all the input we receive from the exterior of the moment - we filter it through our senses. It’s like this thing that happens with some celestial bodies. They always rotate looking at each other in the same way, as if they were doing this dance in which they always show the same face while hiding the other angles. The way we experience and understand things is always influenced by our senses, and our senses are programmed to look or understand things in a particular way.
What do you feel and experience in City where you live?
I’ve lived in different cities during the years (most of my life I’ve lived in my hometown in Spain, in London and Barcelona). When I relocated to Mexico I spent five months in Mexico City. It is an amazingly vibrant city and I truly enjoyed it but on my fifth month there, life took me to Tepoztlán, an eccentric little town one hour away from Mexico City. I’ve been living in Tepoz for over three years now and I love the quality of life I can enjoy here. I feel its rural pace tames my hyperactive mind and lets me focus on my art practice.
Where are you going to be doing this November?
I’ll be preparing two exhibitions for josegarcia, mx, one opening late November at their Merida space and another one in early 2019 at their main gallery in Mexico City. For Merida, I’m working on an installation in collaboration with the experimental musician Sol Oosel and the intention of the piece is taking the visitors to altered states of consciousness with the help of light and sound. Please do come if at any point you are in Mexico later this year, it should be fun! :) here. I feel its rural pace tames my hyperactive mind and lets me focus on my art practice.