Transformation: Below the Noise

“Then stirs the feeling infinite, so felt in solitude, where we are least alone.” Lord Byron.

Being raised in one of the largest cities in the world, where everything moves very fast and noise is confusingly loud does not allow you to connect with the “big picture”. Imperceptible chaos and visual distractions can be overwhelming most of the time. The shocking encounter I experienced in the solitude of the desert landscape 19 years ago and later the coastline landscapes of South Louisiana and Mississippi made me really appreciate the inherent connection we all have with the world as a whole. It made me listen to myself, hearing deep below my own noise. The desert is a sublime landscape that can make you realize how small you really are in the great scope of life, but at the same time make you feel part of it. The coastline of the Southern States I currently live in, made me think about the process of continuous movement and transformation any landscape endures in order to survive. This relationship of movement and transformation between these different landscapes drove me to create this series.

TRANSFORMATION: BELOW THE NOISE is a series of large-scale oil paintings created with the purpose of showcasing the connection and relationship between the great spiritual essence of the American Southwest Desert Canyons and the sublime Coastline Landscapes of South Louisiana and Mississippi. During the process of visually interpreting the rock formations flash-flood water very patiently formed, I started collecting rocks on-site to use as natural pigments to create my own oil paint. This process gave me the opportunity to recreate the tones naturally formed by environmental oxidation. Additionally, I have been observing the coastal landscapes connecting the movement of the water with the continuous transformation of the intricate forms of the Desert Canyons.

My hope with this body of work is for the viewer to make a connection admiring their delicate nature and importance in the larger global ecosystem of this planet we all call home. I hope to create a greater consciousness around the urgent necessity to protect and preserve these contrasting and interconnected landscapes.

© 2019 Belinda Flores-Shinshillas