CREATIVPAPER Magazine
Issue 019
Welcome
If you ever feel like life is getting a bit too much to handle at the moment, you are not alone. This pandemic is showing no sign of waning, governments around the world are using the chaos to strengthen their hold. Inching closer to autocracy with each passing day. Millions unemployed, a growing mortality rate. I have had to reduce my time spent reading the news just to make it through the day without breaking down. Yet, in times of despair, we have shown resilience as a species. The protests around the world fighting for the rights of our most marginalised and segregated have given us hope. The Black Lives Matter movement along with countless others around the world have the potential to end decades of systemic racism and discrimination through real-world legislation. Leaders who have come to power through a rhetoric of hatred and fear have been laid bare. Their incompetence and lack of empathy exposed as they sideline and scapegoat one community and institution after another. The fight is not over yet. There is work to be done and we are only in July. We can choose to see 2020 as the toughest year yet, or as the moment when we truly woke up and changed it for the better.
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Cover Artwork: Covid-19, Mixed media on canvas (the media includes surgical facemask, palm tree shreds, acrylic, modeling paste, newspaper & charcoal), 24� x 18�, 2020
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Contents
06 GILBERT SALINAS 10 DAVE CURTIS 14 ELIZABETH MALAVE 16 BRITTA ORTIZ 20 JEROME CHIA HORNG-LIN 24 MATTU PHOTOGRAPHY 28 MOHOLINUSHK 32 REDGRITS 34 JESSIE PITT 38 LUANA STEBULE 42 PAUL DOWNS 44 MATTY HEIMGARTNER 48 DEVON GOVONI 52 KATY KIDD 56 MOLLY SCANNELL 60 MIKOLAJ WLODARCZYK 64 REBECCA MILLER
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Cover Artist
GILBERT SALINAS gilbertsalinas.com
Our planet is in a constant state of flux. As much as we have shaped the planet in our minuscule time on it, over billions of years, continents have formed, species evolved and went extinct. Our home went from a mass of lava to a block of ice and everything in between. All this change has left marks and tracers that we are discovering as time goes by. Giving us invaluable information about our home, weather and cataclysmic events of the past. Events that may help us predict the future for us. The central theme of artist Gilbert Salinas’ work is the organic forms in nature and its evolution through art. He is also concerned with the ageing surfaces on the planet and the traces of time. He also focuses on the conscience, instincts and complexities of human beings. Trying to understand when this complexity began. I guess we all have marks left by time that need investigating.
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Jibarito 2, Mixed media on canvas, 14” x 11”, 2020
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Untitled, Mixed media on canvas, 10” x 10”, 2020
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Untitled, Mixed media on canvas, 10” x 10”, 2020
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Artist Feature
DAVE CURTIS davidecurtisart.weebly.com
Whether we like it or not change is constant and uninhibited. For millions of years, our planet has been undergoing a change in the form of extinctions, evolution, death and rebirth. Each cataclysmic event leading to the dawn of another era, the rise of another species. But of all the ages, we live in a time of accelerated change. Our environment is being decimated and shaped faster than it can recover and keep up. Born in Washington DC, artist David Curtis’s work acts as a link between time and change. A combination of dystopia and the primordial soup of prehistoric earth, he creates dialogue around different themes such as history, religion, literature and philosophy. We had a conversation with David where he talks about various themes such as the paleontological references in his work, Carl Jung and his career spanning three decades.
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Aquarium Triptych, Four Paintings, Acrylic on Canvas, Each is 24 x 24�, 2018
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Ringo, I don’t think we are in Pepperland anymore, acrylic on canvas, 24”x24”, 2019
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Flight of Icthyeus, Acrylic on Canvas, 24 x 24”, 2019
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Artist Feature
Jessica and Dahbe
ELIZABETH MALAVE elizabethmalave.com
As an artist, public validation and opinion can plan an important role. But, the primary concern must be with the narrative. Create, because you want to, cause its what feels right. Follow that gut feeling. Artist Elizabeth Malave uses these rules whenever she is in the studio. After shying from sharing her work for years, she eventually took the plunge and moved on to having it showcased in London and Italy. She believes in collaboration with other artists and photographers, making the best of each day and the opportunities it offers.
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Dahbe
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Artist Feature
BRITTA ORTIZ britta-ortiz.dk
If there is one thing that this ongoing pandemic has highlighted, it is the inequality that exists in modern society. We were aware of its presence but it has been brought to the front and centre. Being on the wrong side of the fence could mean the difference between life, starvation or death. We can all do our bit to make the world a better place through compassion, respect and consideration. Danish artist Britta Oritz existentially relates to the world. Her love for life, nature and human beings are prevailing themes in her pieces, forcing the viewer to stop and think about what they are seeing. Trained by several prominent artists, Britta is not shy in her use of symbolism, is particularly sensitive to the current political climate around the world and its hostility towards immigrants and refugees.
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The primitive man - the man, woodcut, 60 x 42 cm
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View of the sea, linocut, 30 x 21 cm
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The mound in Gurede, linocut, 21 x 30 cm
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Artist Feature
JEROME CHIA-HORNG LIN jeromelin.net
Sex, the mere mention of the word brings about a range of emotions from lust to passion and dread. In many cultures around the world, the mere discussion of this intimate activity, one that is integral to the survival and propagation of every species is taboo. Negative, distorted and misunderstood our society would be a much better place if our attitudes towards sex and sexuality would be more open. Taiwanese artist Jerome Chia-Horng, in his latest body of work, explores the relationship between sex and eggs. After all, eggs are the reproductive cell from female animals. Drawing reference from a nuclear explosion and its resemblance to a tree. Jerome combines the forms of a tree and egg to express this explosive effect.
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A butterfly in the moment, Oil on Canvas, 27 x 35cm, 2018
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The journey of eggs, Oil on Canvas, 53 x 45.5cm, 2018
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The explosion of a nuclear egg, Oil on Canvas, 72.5 x 60.5cm, 2018
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Artist Feature
MATTU PHOTOGRAPHY mattu-photography.com instagram.com/mattu.photography
As a photographer, Zurich based Mattu tackles his subjects like a book. The cover portrays one impression but each page reveals a more complex layer. Insightful, intriguing and exploratory. Different personality types require varying approaches to open up. It is uncovering this potential of his subjects that Mattu cherishes and invests. Of course, the tables are often turned with subjects pushing Mattu outside his comfort zone, helping him grow as an artist, photographer and as a person. In establishing a connection of trust, insight and depth between the model and photographer, authentic captures with candid, deep and precious moments can be created. It is often a magic moment that cannot be forced, it happens when the moment is right.
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Artist Feature
moholinushk moholinushk.com
Drawing her inspiration from Japanese graphic art, Islamic geometric patterns, Zurich based artist moholinushk started drawing circles, these did not lead to a connection in the beginning but after a year of intensive encounters with artists of the Bauhaus and re-discovering the drawings and photographic essays of the Hungarian painter, photographer and Bauhaus professor Moholy-Nagy, she began to play with circles on paper, combining it with geometric shapes and the world around her as she perceives it. Her objective as an artist is to draw attention to the perfect shape. The circle has been used in architecture, art, science industry and humanity in a plethora of forms for millennia. Supporting our structures, helping us move, in scripts and the circle of life itself.
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Artist Feature
REDGRITS redgrits.com
Redgrits is a 19-year-old artist from India, based in the United Arab Emirates. Her practice includes the exploration of organic identity, subjectivity, objectivity, and materialism through multidisciplinary mediums such as video, animation, photography, 3D, intersecting analog, and digital mediums. Growing up in a place where everything advances every day, She finds peace in creating images that break down her thoughts on the process of this growing world. She likes to incorporate concepts that are in her head and place them in the context of reality - a break from true reality by turning it into a state of unreality - exposing reality in an altered and fluid way. Image and video are a few of the mediums she uses to convey her thoughts about the self - it’s relation to the external world and emotions such as dilation, disorientation, and abstraction to the public. She is deeply influenced by the moving world - The speed at which people talk, walk, how cars move and beep, watching buildings get constructed - the sound of metal hitting the ground. Her work acts as a mirror of her incoherent thoughts of the world due to its rapid growth and lack of time to understand its process.
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Artist Feature
JESSIE PITT jessiepitt.com
when I am in nature, meaning away from the human world. I like to feel less like one ego, and more a part of something I feel like my artworks incorpo- that is completely indifferent to rate everything I feel and every- me yet gives me so much. thing I think. Mountains to me are symbols It can feel overwhelming in the of Earth’s strength and indiffersense that they feel so full, and ence. It is timelessness, where things do not seem to change, yet they are really simple. where things constantly change. They are where I conMy artwork is inspired by the nect the most to nature. natural environment. The wild places, untouched or seemingly untouched by human hands. Yet I feel it in every wind that blows, a bird that cries, in the My inspiration is really Earth itself. storms, the light, the silence, the flowing water of the rivers, and the sun... There is this connection to nature that I feel that overwhelms every other part of me, a soul-fulfilling connection and sense of peace that I become We are from Earth. We exist because of Earth. Earth is nature.
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Time is a recurring theme in my poetry, and in my everyday existence. I feel it’s steady beat in everything I do. I feel my own mortality and the reality that I am just a ‘moment’. I think this is a very human thing to do... we have an awareness of things that can make life hard if it cannot be accepted. Time is always on my shoulders, a weight that is just not connected to me personally but to all of humanity. My current series of artworks from 2020 is inspired by connection... humanities connection to the Earth, which is our home. It is about time. Moments in time that are fleeting. Time as a circle that is never-ending. Time in the sense that we are also just moments in the infinite turning of times wheel. So, time is represented in my works through two symbols. The re-occurrence of birds, and the circle of sticks. Things are changing, things will change. And it is time for humanity to make decisive actions to save our planet and our ability to survive on this planet. I feel that humanity has not changed over the ages, the same things keep moving us, and with this is good and bad. I feel that humanity has lost touch with nature, collectively we have forgotten, and see our-
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selves as separate to the natural world. It makes it less important, more abstract, and less tangible. At a time when we need to protect and see ourselves as a part of nature, the further we move away and become more disconnected. So, my recent artworks are about connection. Remembrance. Understanding. Time, Transience. Empathy. Mediums that I am working with right now are powdered charcoal, graphite, and acrylic on canvas that is deliberately textured and un-framed. They are a mix of drawing and painting techniques combined. I am also starting to use and explore new mediums and ways of exhibiting. With video, sound, movement, and installation. This can be viewed on my website. I like to create immersive spaces, which is a continuation of the desire that people can immerse themselves in the natural world through my art and that it gives them something back. And beginning just before the cover-19 shut down here in Tirol, to take my paintings into the mountains and exhibit them in the environment that inspires them. These things are a continuing exploration of my main themes of Time, connection, moments and nature. END
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Artist Feature
LUANA STEBULE luanastebulefineart.co.uk
Poetry, like visual art, has the ability to stir up emotions that can move us. No matter what language it originates in, poems have played an influential role for thousands of years. Born in Lithuania in 1962, artist and poet Luana Stebule has published four poetry books and has twenty-two solo exhibitions and thirty-seven shared exhibitions under her belt. Some of her poems have been translated into languages such as Italian, Spanish, Turkish and English. For her art, she prefers oil on canvas, although she does has a preference for collages combining wood, textiles, leather and plastic. Some have elements of conceptual style, surrealism and pointillism. Her paintings are an extension of her poetic work on canvas. Earlier this year in Florence, she was awarded the 3rd Leonardo Da Vinci Prize. In 2019 Luana was selected by the International Art Market Magazine to be on the Gold List as one of the top artist of today and her work was recently published in the Art Anthology ‘Important World Artist’.
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Artist Feature
PAUL DOWNS
pauldownsart.net @art_monkey16
Art is creation in its most elemental form. Not biological creation as we know it, but philosophical, emotional and human. It encapsulates our biggest fears, insecurities and successes only to be released into the world. Art can also tell a story, as an individual piece or a culmination of the artists’ body of work. Based in Savannah GA, artist Paul Downs strives to evoke a sense of storytelling and design in his work. He enjoys experimenting, learning and challenging himself artistically with multiple styles and mediums including oil, acrylics, watercolour and graphite. Comics, graphic novels, animation and commercial art were a steady source of inspiration growing up. Paul participates in multiple local Art shows each year both in Savannah and surrounding areas. His works are part of private collections in North Carolina, Washington, Florida, Georgia and California
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Midori, acrylic, 11” x 14”
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Artist Feature
MATTY HEIMGARTNER mattyheimgartner.com
Matty Heimgartner, an Artist living in San Jose, California, faced many life-altering changes in 2019. With the termination of a long-term relationship and the resulting loss of his shared apartment, he moved into his widowed Grandmother’s house to be her primary caregiver and find a stable financial ground of his own. Within a few months, he turned his late Grandfather’s Bar (located behind the house) into an art studio. Having battled drug addiction and alcohol dependency since he was a teenager, Heimgartner finally decided to get sober. In the process, he hoped to maintain old friendships, habits and interests, in fear of becoming a totally different person. What happened was that he did become a new person — but that proved to be the best thing for him. He quit his food service job and began teaching Art to young children and has been involved in many group shows around the Bay Area in California, landing solo shows in San Jose, Berkeley and San Francisco. The fear, the curiosity and the uncertainty of a new life beautifully blossomed into a new style of Art for Heimgartner. Always inspired by addiction and mental health, Matty Heimgartner’s new work has taken on an added surreal element.
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What’s So Fucking Funny?, Acrylic and exterior paint on canvas, 20” x 16”, 2020
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Out From Under, Acrylic and exterior paint on canvas, 24” x 12”, 2020
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Vacancy (I probably still luv u, but whatever), Acrylic and exterior paint on canvas 20” x 16”, 2020
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Artist Feature
DEVON GOVONI devongovoniartist.com
“Conversation before confrontation�. A phrase that artist Devon Govoni is no stranger to. I think we can all agree that it is much easier to resolve and even avoid disputes if we take some time out to talk things through. Unfortunately, this does not always translate well into everyday life. But we can always try. Devon believes that art can be the medium to have those conversations, tackling the issues that we face in our communities across the world. Stepping into the world of art at a young age with the support and love of her family, Devon began entering contests in grade school and winning competitions. She is also a licensed mental health counsellor and registered art therapist.
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Artist Feature
KATY KIDD katykidd.com
Living and working in the high desert at 8000 feet in the Sangre De Cristo mountains, we have artist Katy Kidd. Raised in a family that appreciated art in its various forms and collected it in the Seventies and Eighties, Katy learned to realise the importance of art from a young age. She studied art at the University of Denver’s Youth Art Programme and at the Art Student’s League of Denver. She has also studied Fine Art and Prehistoric Pottery restoration, highlighting the importance of not just the creation of art, but its preservation. Her work can be found in private collections across the United States and she has exhibited her pieces across Europe and North America.
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Artist Feature
MOLLY SCANNELL mollyscannell.com
For artist Molly Scannell, realism comes with its unique perils. Anxiety and pre-conceived notions taint an image with the first crucial moments. She prefers the freedom that collage offers. It gives her the tools to expand the narrative. Combine digital and real manipulation using scissors, glue, keyboard taps and mouse clicks. She often distorts faces. Replacing identity with landscape, colours and shape. This allows her viewers to incorporate their impressions within the piece. Her work has a tactility that helps it take on a three-dimensional form. Working with her hands offers a degree of permanence that is invaluable. It is through our missteps that beauty propagates.
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Portrait, 22” x 29”, Digital Collage
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Abstract, 8.5” x 11”, Digital Collage
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Profile, 22” x 29”, Digital Collage
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Artist Feature
MIKOLAJ WLODARCZYK instagram.com/_isatattoo_
Working out of the Evolved Body Art Tattoo and Piercing Studio in Columbus, Ohio, Artist Mikolaj Wlodarczyk translates the results of his artistic experimentation into tattoos. After completing a Masters Degree in Philosophy, he moved from one job to another. Picking up skills as a carpenter and a goldsmith that he utilises in his art. He experiments with different materials and techniques to achieve alluring results. He spent several years travelling through Belgium and Spain tattooing and making art. The inspiration for his current body of work came from Trauma the Halloween Fetish Party in his home town. The Cabra Lady was conceived as a lino print that went through a few transformations till it got to its current state.
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Artist Feature
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Fossil Fool occupies 2’2” x 2’10” x 7’ of space and stands in a 50-gallon oil drum on a dolly.
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King Covid occupies 6’4” x 6’2” x 8’5” of space and stands on a zippered tarp.
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Li’l Cracker occupies 2’ x 7’ x 8’ of space and lays on the ground.
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