Monica S. Camin

This work portrays my cultural history, my ancestry and the residual psychology of global conflict, which arise as one unearths her roots. Through these paintings I recontextualize my history and compose family portraits that make my relatives and myself whole again, or compose essays that question nationalism and currents events.

I am the daughter of two German Jews who found refuge in Argentina. Mine is a story of displacement, a story all to common in this day and age. I find myself telling the stories of those who came before me, who lived the horrific legend. I find evidence of my strong German roots in my expressionistic style. I reveal my Argentine upbringing in the fantastical narrative stories of the ghosts of my past that read like a Latin American novel.

My process involves layers of application and erasing. Whether working on canvas or in clay, I create a solid foundation and remove the excesses. I continue to re-apply and remove, like the generations of learning and experience that build and deteriorate with each new age. The traces of what remains below always inform the next layer. And that which is uncovered by the erasing (my favorite part) is like the past resurfacing.