Students Share Their Creativity at SVACE
Marco Aurelio, Vein, Series: Vessels, 2021, Photography, Pigment Print, 72” X 57.6”
Bio:
Born and raised at the foot of the South American Andes to a family of generational farmers, I was exposed to native oral histories; pre-Columbian indigenous ritual art and cosmologies; magical realism experiences; and sociopolitical upheaval. I have a Liberal Arts degree from New York University. I have completed coursework in photography from The School of Visual Arts and The International Center of Photography; archaeology and anthropology from The City College at CUNY; and writing and music history from Columbia University. Backgrounds in photojournalism, portrait, editorial and commercial photography inform my fine art photography practice. I live and work in New York City.
Artist Statement:
Titled Vessels, this ongoing series was initially inspired by my reaction to the policy of separating children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border during the previous U.S. administration. The series is evolving into a stream-of-consciousness visual metaphor invoking the treacherous yet lyrical journey of the immigrant who crosses continents, oceans and borders in a utopian attempt to enter an unwelcoming West.
Driven by personal histories and inquiries, I photograph the individual in the street and their habitat to create site-specific visual ethnographies [non-exclusively] referencing political identity, culture, power, history and socioeconomic class.
Course: Trends in Contemporary Art: What’s Happening Now | PHC-2432-A
