Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Dia de Los Muertos: Red Girl in Mexico - Sarah Gibson at UPspace











Opening 30th October - exhibition continues 31st October—1st November 2015

In 2013 Sarah undertook an artist residency in Oaxaca, Mexico to immerse herself in Dia de Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebrations when the living welcome the dead with feasts, vigils and parades, with private and collective acts of remembering.

What is it like when death is very alive in the cultural imagination? The sheer size and quirky vibrancy of the giant papier-mâché skeletons and puppets created by Mexican artists inspired this series of drawings.

 Working with oil pastel Sarah explores the colours and liveliness of a Mexican approach to death. She uses her character ‘Red Girl’ to play with her own anxieties about death, in particular her fear of unlived life.  “ I am interested in the permeability between the living and the dead and between life and death. I am curious about how we bring awareness of death into life.”


Detail, Spider Mother, 2015


Self Portrait, Oaxaca, 2014

Dia de Los Muertos: Red Girl in Mexico is at UPspace, UPstudios Gallery until 1st November. Hut 14, Addison Rd, Marrickville. See map below