We were lucky to catch up with Macarena Salinas recently and have shared our conversation below.
Macarena , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
I feel lucky to have the opportunity to dedicate myself to what I am most passionate about, which is working in art, making works, researching materials, proposing works. Working on painting as much as on ceramics, contacts me with that inner being, which forces me to have something to say, forces me to have that need to express myself through art.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was born in Santiago de Chile, a city surrounded by the Andes Mountains, my love for nature arises in my trips to the north and south of the country. I studied art, I was always interested in it, I work in painting and in parallel in contemporary ceramic sculpture.
I am interested in my work being shown through its materiality, I am interested in the material being an important part of the proposal, I am interested in the moment in which I work, I am interested in the action, the accident, the chance remaining in the work.
I am inspired by the connections that exist in nature, those vital connections, of the natural cycles of life and evolution. That energy of a nature that exists and pre-exists. I am interested in nature with its vital force, its cycles, its beauty, with the cycles in the sense of unity and the magic of life, the cycles of the regeneration of nature and the origin of creation, the origin of life.
As an artist I try to capture in my works the secret of the moment of working, I feel the need that the action of working, is revealed in the work and that become part of it. I am interested in the magic that the piece of art acquires as it become independent from the artist and seduce and be appreciated by others.
I am inspired by the idea of the creative process, from the minute it arises in the artist’s mind until the work takes shape.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Yes now, I have been working on a series that I will exhibit in my solo exhibition on december, in Chile.
Last March I was in an artistic residency, at San Pedro de Atacama desert, where the inspiration came from to show the archaeological remains that the native peoples of those lands made. Each mountain has its history and characteristic for them, I tried to capture that magic, that sacredness, of each one , by making an interpretation of the essence of each one in my paintings.
From their legends in which they humanize the mountains, giving them a feminine character, for example in the case of Cerro Quimal, which embodies an Andean princess who is wanted by two volcanoes who fight over her, there is also the myth that appears a city of gold at its summit, from that magic that exists until today I propose these works.
My proposal in the sculptures are works inspired by the ceramics found in these sacred places, vestiges of ceremonies and offerings, ceramics that the Atacameños develop to this day and use in their rituals.
In this exhibition I want to show the sacred peaks of the native peoples, the mountains that for them were a symbol of protection, they were where their ancestors lived, they were providers of napas and water outcrops, places where they performed ceremonies and rituals that last until the day of today.
There are about 50 archaeological sites at more than 5,200 meters high found in the Andes area, it is believed that they were used to carry out ceremonies and rituals, to mark the roads, and it is also probable to mark possible mines. Constructions of small circle-shaped walls and stone platforms have been found, with vestiges of ceramics and offerings. There are no archaeological remains at that height anywhere else in the world.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Well, being able to work on what I am passionate about, also the pleasure that the process gives me in both ceramics and painting, for me the moment of working is magical and I am interested in having that reflected in my work. And having the possibility of showing and creating a work.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.macarenasalinas.com
- Instagram: @macasalinasa
- Linkedin: Macarena Salinas Amaral