Influenced by Jungian archetypes, Isabella Morales uses an entire host of Latin American myths and imagery in an allusive and indirect way to understand herself through her memories. The figures appear ambiguous; the compositions are densely populated.
Joy and the tension appear at a glance, but looking closer Morales’ work enquires what it is to be human, with dreaming and memories as portals for new possible futures. The work is removed from direct reality, while at the same time analysing domination, non-linear time and heritage. Her work can be unsettling, and Morales puts great emphasis on storytelling, resulting in density and creations as an extension of who she is and where she comes from. In her artworks she captures moments that are based on her personal memories and feelings while also hinting at a universal experience. Mythology is present but as an open space, a point of departure toward a world yet to be built.
Symbiosis is an important aspect for Morales. Not only as a way of creating compositions and connections between figures but also in the materiality of the work. She recently started using discarded and found materials in sculpture and the creation of her canvases. For the artist, one can identify with animals and with matter, as they too are in movement and have the right to exist. Themes of migration, ecology and feminist and indigenous studies inevitably back her practice, even if intuition is the first step when making work.