Background

Very early in my life I realized that I had the perspective of an outsider.  Because I was born in a Romanian family in Geneva, Switzerland, the eccentric tendencies of my parents often clashed with the principles of the Calvinist society we lived in.  My friends called me Paprika Feet.  Later on, while working on my Masters Degree in contemporary Latin American fiction I experienced instant recognition.  The novels I was reading were describing what I had been observing for years: magic realism.  Raised in a Cartesian society where only a pragmatic attitude was acceptable, I succumbed to the irrationality of Latin American writers.

School of Magic Realism

I have always been fascinated by the various interpretations of reality.  Does it come from inside the heart, or is it hiding behind our eyes?  Sometimes the eye doesnt have a face, other times the face doesnt have eyes.  Underneath it all hides the message, the Word.

Process and Technique

Ultimately, when the Word becomes too powerful, it expresses a clash, and thoughts are at war, causing a sense of dislocation in our eye.  In order to represent the gap between reality and illusion, I use my emotions and mind to construct meaning, applying layer after layer with a diversity of tools: casein paints, collages, and colored pencils.  Under the background lies a collage of words and symbols formulating the message.  Adding paint with sponges, rollers and brushes, distressing it with cheesecloth or even my fingers, I cover the underground, giving it the look of an ancient wall.  It is history, wearing out but always there, as well as the wall snaking in the secret corners of our mind.  I then add more collages and paint, carefully choosing each image to weave the fabric of a story.  The application of eight to ten coats of varnish completes the work, giving it a sense of integration, making the collages disappear into the paint.