Alex Castellarnau Portfolio

Transcript

1. It started with heartbreak This drawing represents the beginning of me falling in love with fantasy. The paper I used is from the first page of the “True Blood” book. Watching this series was an awakening, and introduced me to fantasy in the real world and how reality can warp fantasy. I wanted to draw a surreal representation of “heart break”, because when I first watched my heart was broken because of my parents divorce and me moving to another country. Watching this was the starting point to healing and my creative discovery. ( I have read the first book but appreciate the series more)
2. Rebel vs Conform The makeup industry has grown a lot recently, social media has played a significant role in this fast growth. Makeup trends may come and go, but the basic Instagram makeup always comes back. I think that this has become a cycle which encourages a makeup routine that is not realistic or creative. After researching makeup icons/revolutionaries, I came across David Bowie, and became inspired by his rebellious nature. I explored his makeup and created the makeup look that would encourage people to explore and be adventurous. I don’t think you have to be extreme but expressing yourself and finding your truest expression is what I want to encourage.
3. Pollution Pollution is a reality that some of us refuse to acknowledge. I’ve taken a snapshot of our dystopian future. . . Bloated and tar-like creatures abound, choking on plastic as they trudge through a grey world. I was inspired by the pictures taken for Vogue Italia’s “Water & Oil” cover (Steven Meisel). We don’t seem to do anything when we see images of animals caught in oil so I thought that seeing a fellow human, might inspire some to take action.
4. Death is an accessory “Bones are the only thing that is left after life and death tango”, this is what I thought of when cleaning the bone and exploring bone art. Bones are the perfect accessory of life and death, as they are the only remnant of them both. The word accessory stayed with me, I followed through with this idea and thought about a fashion photoshoot idea of having the skull be a clothing accessory, like a handbag.
5. Scars & Pain Expressing pain through my art has always been important to me. The healing process for me is extremely important whether it be emotional or physical. Stitches spoke to me and in the work I have produced I wanted to explore this On the left you can see eyes being segmented by a string, which I have shown through paper. I wanted to make these eyes look evil and have the string be the one thing that could contain/hold them back. On the right there's a canvas that I cut, then I sewed it and stuck torn pieces of newspaper cuts on the back. I wanted to show that the world is constantly hurting us and that we need to sow ourselves back.
6. Witch planning and process I began by experimenting with flames and expressing them in different textures in my sketchbook. Then I wanted to express the darker aspects of fire which lead me to witch burnings, Joan of Arc and witch marks. I rewrote the ending of her tragic legend and based an eyeshadow look on this ending and the witch marks people used to accuse women of witchcraft.
7. Joan of Arc This was the makeup look was inspired by Joan of Arc. She has risen from the flames (the symbol of toxic masculinity) and looks upon the people that watched her burn.
8. Witch Mark These makeup looks were inspired by witch marks. Instead of these marks being imperfections I made them in to beautiful marks that are on their faces and that they wear proudly as a symbol of their strong femininity.
9. Women in the Dark Even though I am not a woman, I explored how women are perceived through photography. Though the contrast between light and dark, With this I wanted to add the element of mystery and allow the viewers own natural response/interpretation arise. From living in Spain my prediction is that the initial response might be judgemental. With these pictures I want the viewer to look at photos and imagine that the model was a man and not a woman. I understand that the pictures are provocative but this is meant to make us think further then just simple sexual desire. It's meant to make us reflect on the normality of the female body and how a woman being relaxed/comfortable can be seen as an invitation or consent. I hope to provoke a layered response filled with thought and to make people understand the divide between genders. If this were a man we might just see him as being relaxed instead of an invitation.
10. Fox Spirit A friend of mine wanted me to create a makeup look based on the mythical east Asian Fox spirits of China and Japan, the Kitsune and Huli jing. (for her portfolio)