BFA Spring Graduating Artist Karina Mago

Karina Mago

Artist Statement:

My work is a study on the mysteries of human memory. Fueled by a fascination for the fickle nature of memories themselves, I create pieces that capture their ever-changing state, and the way in which they are created, distorted, aggrandized, and preserved.Depending on our experiences, each event is perceived differently, and each memory is remembered in a unique way. This makes memories exclusively personal; caught within the solitary confinement of our own minds. However, I believe that by displaying and sharing these intimate experiences, we can achieve a deeper and more meaningful understanding of one another.

I create landscapes that make my memories more tangible. I choose to depict my imagery onto clay objects because, once fired, this incredibly fragile item becomes eternal. The ceramic is forever altered by the firing process, destined to hold its form until it breaks, and unable to be turned back into the clay that it once was. Similarly, the imagery on the work is also forever bound. Once the work is finished, the memory is enclosed and preserved within the earthy surface, unable to degrade or change.

As a Venezuelan immigrant, I have experienced a state become fueled by uncertainty. Due to a toxic government, I have watched a beautiful country crumble under years of ill-intentions and disregard. I was forced to leave my birth country, thrive in a different culture, speak a different language, and be immersed by completely different surroundings. However, I’ve also have been lucky enough to be able to revisit Venezuela, and to observe its decay from a unique in-between perspective. My work aims to become a voice that raises awareness about the state of events in Venezuela while channeling both the beauty of a nostalgic memory, and the harshness of a changing reality.