Colombian artist obsessed with canvassing peace
By Mehru Jaffer
JAKARTA (JP): This world of ours cannot have enough peace. And from wherever the call for peace comes, it is most welcome. This time the message is brought to Jakarta on the wings of gorgeous butterflies painted on canvas in all the colors of the rainbow from the far away Republic of Colombia in South America.
Introducing the art work of Maripaz Jaramillo, a 50-year-old artist, to art lovers here, Maria Clara Betancur, the ambassador, said peace was a national obsession with Colombians today and therefore it was not surprising to find it reflected in contemporary art as well.
In recent times Colombia has seen violent forces like left- wing insurgents and right-wing militias tear the countryside apart while its drug economy is as pervasive as ever, giving the nation the reputation of being corrupt and drug-ridden.
Over the years the country has piled up a long history of illegal economic activities and for over two decades has been one of the main engines driving the international drug trade.
During this tug-of-war between guerrilla warriors and drug war lords, all that ordinary Colombians yearn for is for their streets to become free of death and violence once again. They seem to have had enough of blood and gore, and have already paid a tremendous price in terms of financial, institutional, and most tragic of all, human losses.
But this was not always so. Before its entanglement with the drug trade in the 1980s, Latin America's third largest country was even a model of good governance. With its wealth of natural resources and the determination of its people to continue pursuing for long-term peace, the world's largest exporter of coffee can return to being the cozy cafe it once was.
In the meanwhile, citizens from all walks of life are desperately trying in their own way to make sure peace reigns in their country.
Maripaz began her career in art by following in the footsteps of modernists, making liberal use of expressionism. She was enchanted by pop-art. She has tried her hand at graphics, choosing women as her central theme. Later the single woman concept and her role in society graduated to a play between couples.
She deliberately made use of much kitsch and distortions in criticism of certain conventions. The war among Colombians has made her journey within herself.
Today she finds herself returning to her roots among the coffee plantations where she grew up. She has managed to cull out all the brilliant colors of the extraordinary flora and fauna of the Colombian countryside that were her companions during her childhood, to flash it upon canvas after canvas.
Memories of the pristine life on the plantations also make her want to cling to peace as if it is the most essential need of her being. She even works digitally to create dream like color combinations with a heart so open that it seems almost possible to listen to her soul speak.
After each image is transferred onto her canvas, she decorates them with the abandon of a child and with everything that she can find, including confetti in silver and gold.
Her work is full of naive lines and spaces filled in a splash of colors of every possible shade that seem to pour onto her canvases out of a prism. Through the ages, butterflies have remained a symbol of spring and rebirth, of renewal and hope in life. Poets have spoken of the butterfly in the same breath as freedom and change.
Maripaz seems to be doing the same, in the hope that her message of peace riding astride the technicolor fans of her butterflies will eventually flutter into the hearts of all warmongers around the world, inspiring them to end all conflicts in a more peaceful way.
The exhibition at the National Museum remains open until Aug. 24.