Art runs through the veins of the visual artist Isabel De Obaldia, who is already working on several projects for this 2021.
Motivated after winning at the last Hayah International Short Film Festival, in the category “Best Documentary Short Film Panama”, for the production “Por Panamá la vida”, she has said that she has her sights set on international festivals.
How have you dealt with quarantines?
I have drawn and painted, because I have the great luck to have my studio at home and a tenacious discipline forged by the example of my father, the teacher Guillermo Trujillo. When I was a little depressed or angry, he always told me “Work and forget about it.”
How did the pandemic influence the arts?
There are a lot of young people creating and I congratulate them for that.
What motivated you to create the sculptures “Figures of clay and lime, cover up evil”?
When the restrictions were lifted a bit, my granddaughters started visiting my studio, so I thought playing with mud would be a good distraction for everyone. They worked a couple of days and I continued.
How was the molding process?
The first ones were a bit tragic and depressing, then I let go and the figures began to have more movement and talk to each other. My son Sebastián Icaza, who is an artist, advised me on baking cycles and preparation of enamels
Why did you baptize her with that name?
It is a very old saying that was used during the medieval plagues. Also, it is an allusion to the hypocrisy of so many people who, taking advantage of the crisis that overwhelms us all, hides the evil of their actions against citizens.
How do you see the integration between art and technology?
It is impressive that a part of the art world is being reduced to the format of a cell phone, but that is the current reality, your work must be photogenic.
What is your documentary “Por Panamá la vida” about?
It is a short personal documentary about the years lived under the dictatorship of General Noriega and that culminated with the invasion of the United States, in December 1989. I will never be able to forget those years and the impotence when seeing how our country was violated by own and strange thugs .
What do you want to convey with the footage?
I want to teach young people a bit of what we lived during the time of the military dictatorship and refresh the memory of my contemporaries. We must not forget what we are experiencing and we must not ignore what threatens us today.
What did it mean to you to win at the Hayah Short Film Festival?
I was not expecting it, I was very honored.
Do you have projects for this year?
There are several in progress and at the moment I am collaborating in a local one with the Mateo Sariel Gallery. I look forward to participating in the ADAA Art Show in February, in New York City, in the US I will continue as always, exploring.
Eliened Ortega Yángüez
[email protected]
Twitter: @ElienedY
Instagram: @_eliyanguez
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