My art is dark, raw and reflective. 

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My drawings are mainly made in black and white dry pastels, pencils and charcoal on paper. The paper is often deteriorated by me, which can generate texture, movement and drama to the representations. To me what I draw might the soul and the paper the body. The soul can be confusing, sad and mad, and the body can be destroyed by the time, scars or diseases.

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The themes habitually refer to ways of social power and human existence. The side of the fantasy and oneirism is explored too. I draw political events, portraits and self-portraits, personal narratives dealing with health problems and questioning medical, political and religious power.

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My creative process can include or not the use of models. I like to create some mental narratives, and they are enrichment by “finding hidden messages” at images that sprout in the drawing, which the process I called “bringing ghosts to life”.

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My work usually causes discomfort, fear and self-reflection, as well as admiration for its beauty, fantasy and expressiveness. Someone once said: “it’s like a feeling of choking” and this was exactly what I felt when drawing it.

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Tatyani Quintanilha.