PROFILE: Patricia Mado

PATRICIA MADO // PRINTMAKING

Happenstance: Tell us a little about what you’re showing in Hip Pop, and where you drew your inspiration for it.

Patricia: The chosen artworks at Hip Pop exhibition are part of a running process that I have been working on since 2002. I am interested in showing  things that you can see crossings in, like maps, scaffolds, electric posts, nets, trees and so on. They are things that in daily life you don’t even notice, but you then realise you can find beauty in them. In Japan, where I lived for 2 years, there are lots of energy towers in the middle of the cities like you see in the monster movies from the ’70s. And they are there: giants, opponents, standing out from medieval houses and rice crops. The contrast is amazing!

Scaffold is something that has always inspired me. The way that the scaffolders weave it together, not for an aesthetic reason but for the purpose of protecting and successfully fulfilling the building project and without casualties; it reminds me of the way the birds build their nests to make sure they will have success securing offspring.
This is what I try to show with my works: the “accidential beauty” that we are constantly surrounded by and exposed to in our everyday life.

H: You make some really detailed and intricate engravings.  Can you tell us a little bit about this process, and what drew you to it?
P: My artworks are based on these “accidental beauties” that I see moving around in nature and the urban environment.  Most of my subjects have a connection to my life, for example the electric tower was just across the street from where I lived in Japan, and somehow it became beautiful and important to me looking out the window everyday studying it.
The actual technique of carving is something that has taken me many years to develop.  Every printmaker has his or her own signature in the lines they choose and don’t choose, it’s like a fingerprint really.

In 1998, when I was preparing for university exams, there was a teacher called Adir Botelho. He founded the Printmaking Course at the University of Rio de Janeiro in ‘70. That period was his last before he was forced to retire. In Brazil, we have a big tradition of printmaking in the Northeast, well-known for Cordel literature that mixes print with poetry, and he changed the conception of that from craft to art. At that time, I thought it was a good opportunity to study with him and it was really worth it. I owe a lot to him.
I think my background helped a lot with this decision. Japanese woodcut is one of the most important techniques and is respectable worldwide. I like the process, dedication and to determine what it is going to be from start to finish. On the other hand, I like the casual nature that comes with non-intentional lines, unconcerned carvings that appear among the chosen image.

H: Do you have any tips, tricks or advice for young artists trying to get their work out there?
P: The most important thing is to participate in exhibitions, art events and contests. As many as possible.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT PATRICIA’S BLOG.