NATALY BARAJAS

ARTIST BIO

Nataly Barajas is a first-generation Mexican-American multidisciplinary artist from Fresno, California. Through video and installations, they often explore the intersections between their own identity and community.

They attended Fresno City College and transferred to California State University East Bay to complete their undergraduate studies. Barajas will receive their BFA in Fine Arts Practice in May 2021.

ARTIST STATMENT

I have no idea what I’m doing...

Yet subconsciously it feels right. As I play around with the materials and experiment with the endless arrangements possible, every mark that I do is filled with thoughtless intention. The process becomes an unexpected balance and contradiction between mindless wandering and planned-out purpose.

The standard self-portrait is usually a painting on canvas. In the works shown, I play around with non-traditional ways that the self can be represented through art. I start a work with a child-like curiosity, and the subconscious reflections of my self rise up to the conscious surface, when I had simply wanted to make a “what if” into a reality. What if I make a full figure out of wood? What if I paint on both sides of the plastic? What if I tried projection mapping? These seeds that began as thoughts grow into an unexpected reality, where I am also left surprised by the outcome.