I´m an interdisciplinary artist originally from Mexico City working between soft sculpture, installation, illustration, and painting who utilizes dreams as the medium to represent an ephemeral view of reality. I explore the subjects of dreams and surrealism via different mediums, ranging from watercolor painting to installation art and soft sculpture. Over the past 18 months of my MFA journey, I´ve found it interesting how my initial watercolor paintings inform my sculptures and vice versa; recently I have been interested in producing pieces that create a common thread between the content of my paintings and the texture of the material in my sculptures. I combine my past training as a fashion designer with sculpture due to the three-dimensionality of the human shape and the fine art process.

In my practice, I amplify the disproportions that can be experienced while dreaming, blending memories and traditional objects that belong to the traditional Mexican culture such as the Milagros and Floreros de Tlaquepaque. I take references from dreams and superstitions I have heard since I was a kid. Moreover, my work has taken an introspective and emotional charge. It engages themes like memory and archival imagery in atemporal moments when the present meets the past to be situated in the same story. This exhibition explores the theme of magic, blending traditional objects from my country like the vases and other places of Latin America that believe in ritual objects. 

Like a little Tlaquepaque vase or Como Jarrito de Tlaquepaque makes reference to the popular expression Es tan frágil como un jarrito de Tlaquepaque which means that a person could be very sensible or emotionally weak. This expression refers to the fragility of the clay used to make the original vases. This body of work is the representation of these vases made of pink quilted fabric instead of clay that translates to a body or object that will never break. The visual language that I´m expressing  across the vases’ surface incorporates selected Tarot cards that have similarity with Mexican lottery games. Among my research I have connected the similarities between this traditional board game for kids and the traditional tarot deck both used as a tool for divination. Working with soft fabrics translates the permanence of the material as a metaphor for the permanence of the future or destiny. The death (La muerte) is a card that represents new beginnings or the end of a journey. 

This exhibition comprises a series of vases that for their unconventional texture and pink color communicates a strong presence of femininity to the viewer, by  creating a soft and colorful environment with different structures and textures. The vases I made for this exhibition are a variety of techniques commonly used in fashion design, ranging from dyeing textiles to smocking fabric.The pieces in this collection are suspended from the ceiling or other  structure with fishing line, since the stuffing material and fabric are not heavier than two pounds. 

Ivonne Yáñez’s Website: www.behance.net/ivonneyanez_manthra

Instagram: @ivomisterio