Ana Álvarez-Errecalde

Title

Ana Álvarez-Errecalde

Medium

Location

Barcelona
Spain

Artist Statement

"Themes inspired by my personal experiences such as vital cycles, birth, motherhood, illness, immigration, ageing and death are found throughout my body of work. I create images that become a document of our love, our fears and our conquests.
My artwork is a contemporary social commentary through which I like to challenge the singular story that has been told and reinforced as a way of normalizing roles and attitudes. I cherish plurality and my way of doing so is to contribute images and testimonies that expands perspective and the constricted existing imagery.

Within a common experience like expecting a child or the passing away of a parent, we find transcendental truth. Art has the potential of transmitting that emotion to confront our daily numbness with something that is authentically substantial and profound.

I believe that there is a manipulative and deliberate lack of information that hinders the understanding of just how empowering and transformative motherhood can be. I cherish plurality and my way of contributing is to share my experiences in order to expand the constrained social imagery.
In "Birth of My Daughter", a self-portrait while giving birth, I take off my "cultural" veil. My maternity is not virginal or aseptic. I am the archetype of the primal woman, the woman beast that has nothing prohibited. I show a maternity not seen through the eyes of Eve (the divine punishment "you will give birth with the pain of your body"), but seen through the eyes of Lucy (the earliest hominid found to date). These photographs can help others rethink the idea of the fragile, painful, out of control and overly medicated birth that is considered the norm in many countries.

How I relate to nudity and blood is a mirror of my fascination with life. I am accepting of my changing body, amazed with how my children grow, and intrigued by the aging process. The blood and nudity seen within the context of my artwork is linked to authenticity and undiluted sensuality. I create images that become a document of our love, our fears and our conquests."

Collection

Citation

“Ana Álvarez-Errecalde,” Artist Parent Index , accessed March 28, 2024, https://artistparentindex.com/items/show/26.

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