Monica Ramos |
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Terra Incognita
The mind is the place where our whole existence occurs. Information about the world is gained through the senses, but actually made sense of in the mind, where thoughts are created, altered and lost. We are in this world but never experience anything beyond our bodies. Except in dreams and death, we never escape ourselves and our consciousness. Like our bodies, the mind is alive, a living organism that changes and grows over time.
My thesis is an experiment in looking at the mind as a place that reflects the familiarity and strangeness of being alive. I aim to depict imaginary spaces that people can get lost in, can crawl into and explore.
The process of "growing" these interior landscapes comes primarily through experimentation and repetition. I imagine that I myself am "growing" the places onto the paper as I paint them. I chose watercolor as my medium because of its immediacy. Even a spill or an accidental mark must be integrated into the whole composition. Watercolor is difficult to paint over or erase. The organic and accidental nature of the medium is refreshing to see in a world saturated with digitally produced images.
Monica Ramos
I am a freelance illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY. I was born and raised in the Philippines.
Some clients include: The New York Times, Lucky Peach, Pulp Magazine, Rookie Mag, Oh Comely!, Bitchslap Magazine, Eight, McSweeney’s and Good Magazine.
The mind is the place where our whole existence occurs. Information about the world is gained through the senses, but actually made sense of in the mind, where thoughts are created, altered and lost. We are in this world but never experience anything beyond our bodies. Except in dreams and death, we never escape ourselves and our consciousness. Like our bodies, the mind is alive, a living organism that changes and grows over time.
My thesis is an experiment in looking at the mind as a place that reflects the familiarity and strangeness of being alive. I aim to depict imaginary spaces that people can get lost in, can crawl into and explore.
The process of "growing" these interior landscapes comes primarily through experimentation and repetition. I imagine that I myself am "growing" the places onto the paper as I paint them. I chose watercolor as my medium because of its immediacy. Even a spill or an accidental mark must be integrated into the whole composition. Watercolor is difficult to paint over or erase. The organic and accidental nature of the medium is refreshing to see in a world saturated with digitally produced images.
Monica Ramos
I am a freelance illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY. I was born and raised in the Philippines.
Some clients include: The New York Times, Lucky Peach, Pulp Magazine, Rookie Mag, Oh Comely!, Bitchslap Magazine, Eight, McSweeney’s and Good Magazine.