Imaginary Beings – Illustrations by Ana Aragão

“To draw is to reinvent memories.”Ana Aragão

This Christmas, Taipa Village Cultural Association exclusively presents Portuguese artist Ana Aragão’s first solo exhibition in Macau entitled “Imaginary beings”, which showcases her unique collection of illustrations of building features which are drawn spontaneously in different forms and shapes, leading audience to a fairy tale. From small town villages to huge towers, Ana’s illustrations capture the fantastic nature of the endless possibilities when it comes to drawing from imagination. Many buildings featured in these illustrations resemble some places in Macau.

Curator’s Statement

It is with great pleasure and honour that Taipa Village Art Space presents “Imaginary Beings”, illustrations by the emergent Portuguese illustrator Ana Aragão, as the invited international artist to close this year’s artistic program. Making her debut show in Macau, we hope to broaden horizons in two directions: on the one hand, that of the artist whose current work is inspired by generic features of local architecture, but who has never set foot on Macanese soil, and on the other hand, that of local art appreciators in understanding that professional illustration also has its place in an art gallery.

Ana’s work is endlessly refreshing to look at due to the amount of detail poured into each drawing and, most importantly, by means of objectifying the built environment, i.e. transforming common buildings into single objects of desire without having the need to compromise with the constraints of reality, for instance gravity, makes each building-portrait prone to the viewer’s imagination and empathy.

The work presented in the current exhibition comprises three collections specifically trimmed for this show: 1) Structures, drawings in black ink pen, are modular constructions made by the addition of individual cellular houses; 2) Hrönir, a set of 44 drawings that together form the colors of the rainbow utilizing watercolor and black ink pen, are objects produced by the power of suggestion, in which the random contour of a watermark led to the making of an exquisite creature-building; 3) the Almost Blue collection, is the bigger version of hrönir, an evolution of the creative process referring to the formation of these imaginary monsters, where randomness and control worked side by side, as the necessary ingredients to extract the awkwardly familiar.

The title of this exhibition hails from the book written by the acclaimed Latin American writer Jorge Luis Borges. It clearly laid a strong foundation for Ana to depart on the search for her own imaginary beings, expanding the ever incomplete work of the visionary master.

Joao Ó

About Ana Aragão

Ana Aragão (Porto, 1984) has a background in architecture but builds her dream houses in illustrations and paintings. Fascinated by cities and their real or imaginary representations, Ana draws a lot! Constantly intrigued by the mental and emotional maps that arise from everyday experiences, she explores that obsession either through the finest lines or by means of a full bright and colourful palette . After all, cities are not just about buildings but also about the people who inhabit them, making them human and alive.

In 2014, Ana was selected as one of the 200 best illustrators worldwide by Lurzer’s Archive. Currently lives and works in Porto, Portugal and often takes part in exhibitions, lectures and workshops. She has been featured in Luetzer’s Archive, Casa Internacional, We Transfer, Autores fora d’horas, TED X Porto, Canal 180, Porto Canal, Visão, Sábado, Antena 3, ArchDaily Brasil, Llamas Valley, Tenco News, Art Wednesday,  Jornal i, Diário Económico, Imagens de Marca, Travel and Taste, P3 and Trends™ Magazine.

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