Archeologies of the Environment

Archeologies of the environment, is a series of oil paintings by Fernanda Morales Tovar, which arises since 2014 and gives continuity to her current work. In this, Morales explores the analogies and dialectics existing in the environment that promote the conjunction of nature and urban devices in everyday life. Through a visual archeology that is based on the interpretation and proposal of signs of intersection in the spaces, the humans, the stories, the ruin and the landscape; through the use of painting values such as descriptive and schematic levels of representation, rhythm and color. In order to be alternative landscapes, mediated by the imagination, which imitate the future of the individual in the face of the daily illusion that everyone faces.

1. Let's start with the basics, tell us about yourself. 

My name is Fernanda from Mexico. I am a visual artist by profession, and my work incorporates the discipline of painting.

2. What media do you mainly work with? 

I have experimented with various materials that are common for painting: watercolor, acrylic, gouache, oil. But definitely, my preferred medium for painting is oil. Perhaps, one of the reasons is due to the slow and indefinite moments of drying of this material, which I take advantage of to reflect throughout the process of painting the canvas.

3. What got you started on your current path? 

I think of painting as a discipline that allows me to reflect on my profession as an artist and my surroundings. I have problematized this constant dialogue in one of the traditional genres of painting: the landscape. Well, this works for me to propose a series of archaeological essays mediated by the imagination that are built through affective scenes and visual montages, and which represent human labor activities, their walk, and construction or configuration in/on the landscape.

4. How have things (artistically, life, whatever) changed for you over the past seven months? 

Undoubtedly, the pandemic is a change, a greater change than usual, which has affected me emotionally (feeling of uncertainty, depression, reflection, nostalgia, fear, joy, etc.) and through the ordinary processes of displaying my art. In these last ones, I have exchanged a bit about how I spread my art. Well, by expanding our relationship with virtual media, I have found a whole series of possibilities to share my work in virtual exhibitions, and to connect with other artists, which is wonderful.

5. Who to/Where do you look for inspiration? 

My inspiration arises from the impulse to confront my immediate environment. Either through the observation of the landscape, our daily activities, the constant displacements that we make, and the traces that we generate.

6. What are your major concerns with the world today? 

My concerns with today's world are very extensive, ranging from the politics imposed by governments, cases of inequality, migration, routine work conditions, climate change, the pandemic, to say a few. But, of all these, I find as constant the concern of everything that implies humans with their environment

7. How does your artwork connect with your larger purpose? 

My painting aims to be a conduit that allows generating new connections with reality through the recreation of places from painting. In order to propose a series of own reflections on the environment, which can be used to dialogue, oppose or generate new connections by the viewer.

8. Advice for beginners (of any age)?

Enjoy the process of production and learning of art, as well as to assume oneself as an artist, with all that this implies: to be art a priority, a routine that is incorporated into our daily lives, a constant process of learning and risks

9. Work/shows we should look for?

I am currently working on a series of paintings entitled “Hypothetical spaces: from stories to nature and to urban devices” a series that I could say goes together or is consistent with the “Archeologies of the environment” series. These works will be updated on my website as the project progresses. As for exhibitions, I am excited about my next participation in the Nasty Women London group exhibition (on March 19 th, 2022), which arises from the commitment to create a network of women artists from worldwide.

10. Final comments? Additions? 

It is very valuable to learn and support each other, so I would be delighted to listen to you or talk about your work, my work, as well as any other topic you wish to share with me.

Fernanda Morales Tovar (Mexican, b. 1992) lives and works in Mexico City. She earned her MFA and her BFA in Visual Arts from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She did an Academic Research Stay at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain. Her work has been shown in a solo exhibition and in more than thirty group exhibitions in Mexico, the Netherlands and the UK, including Art Fairs in Mexico and the Netherlands. Her work has been selected in several Art Mexican Biennials. Currently, she is a beneficiary of the “Young Creators 2021-2022” Fellowship in Painting category from the System of Support for Creation and Projects Cultural SACPC–Mexico. Her work has been published in the international press, as well as being part of the Mexican Collection Arte Lumen.