SOL PORTELA RUIZ
Artist Statement
I am a Spanish community artist whose focus is doing meaningful and purposeful art for everyone.
My artwork’s distinctive trait is the use of mixed media. The recurring theme in my work is the use of vibrant colours and sensory materials that evoke organic shapes in nature. Painting allows me to explore this and directly get in touch with the inherently sensory playful experience that is the action of creation. Art is something everyone should be able to enjoy no matter their background. As a practitioner I believe it is important to provide participants with a safe and joyful space to explore creativity in a non-judgmental way.
“Powerful voices” is born from my childhood experiences around learning about human rights and advocating for ourselves. Sharing knowledge and learning from others is something that I am very passionate about. This artwork is a love letter to that, where I aim to celebrate children’s voices and bring awareness on the Rights of the Child.
The focus of this work is around three articles:
- Article 12: The right to give their opinions freely on issues that affect them and be listen and taken seriously by adults.
- Article 13: The right to share freely with others what they learn, think and feel, in any way unless it harms other people.
- Article 31: The right to rest, relax, play and to take part in cultural and creative activities.
In this installation each one of the drawings has been created by children and what they enjoyed doing in their free time, exercising article 31. Their stories are what you can see in this collage of installation. Even the youngest ones can interact with this installation by playing with Forita the doll, to learn their rights.
I am thankful to the Pontypridd library for supporting this project and helping bring awareness on the UN convention on the Rights of the Child.
https://solangedpr.wixsite.com/sunshinecreations
https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text-childrens-version
