Fine Arts artists Isabella Sampietro, Alba Aparicio, Froy Bustos and Sara Sánchez share their reflections on "Estigia", the artistic project that puts the finishing touch to their formative stage in TAI.
We invite you to learn about the creation process, references and expectations of this contemporary bestiary through interviews with the protagonists.
About Styx
Styx, a contemporary bestiary which draws on classical mythology, science fiction and magical realism to explore the blurred borders between the animal and the human. The publication reflects on timeless themes unrelated to the urgencies of today's society, drawing inspiration from literary classics such as Cortázar, Silvina Ocampo, Luigi Serafini and Clarice Lispector.
The artists of Styx
The bestiary, what a strange concept for this century, or not, depends on the type we are talking about. These illustrators have developed their unique version of bestiary:
Alba Aparicio
Wounds and scars are part of our lives, they preserve stories that, for better or worse, have been present in our memories. The skin is a map that is written year after year.
Isabella Sampietro
The Order of Whispers is a mysterious and ancient sect whose roots date back to time immemorial.
Froy Bustos
In the vast universe of Greco-Roman mythology, female figures occupy a prominent place in both the divine pantheon and the mythical creatures that populate the legends of the ancient world.
Sara Sanchez
In the confines of Scaldra, beneath the heavy blankets of rock and sand that dominate its landscape, we find creatures that have forged an adaptive existence.
Interview
If the bestiary is characterized by collecting fantastic animals, what is fantasy and what is animal for you?
Isabella Sampietro: "It is a compilation of images that hybridize reality with the fantastic. In my case the images represent the conjunction of dark animality with the imagination of the dark. The masks hide reality and transmit the essence of the beasts"
Alba Aparicio: "I conceive fantasy as everything that moves away (even a little) from the reality we know. I use fantasy as a tool to evade reality, which allows creativity to explore imaginary and impossible places. The animal, in Instead, it connects much more with reality."
"My fish is an animal in the same way that I am an animal, and we are both equally connected to certain biological laws. Fantasy, on the other hand, allows us to take those concepts and distort them completely."
Froy Bustos: "In my particular case, I have decided to look for a relationship beyond the animal and the fantasy, since my specialty is the classical history and mythology of this period. Consequently I wanted the relationship to be based on something more human. Exit the prototypical bestiary canon to relate it to some female creatures, which in Hellenic mythology have enormous relevance. This particularity gives another perspective to what mythology treats as fantasy to explain a reality.
Sara Sanchez: "For me, fantasy is being able to explore the limits between reality and fiction, without having to respond to the veracity of scientific data. Without this pressure to prove something, one can speculate about more distant horizons."
In an era dominated by the photographic image and the recent incorporation of AI, what do you think is the role of drawing?
Isabella Sampietro: "Drawing allows what the artist imagines to be transmitted with greater sensitivity, since the neural connection manifests the idea formed in the brain through the hand. Without mediating advanced technology."
Alba Aparicio: "I recently listened to a podcast by Monos Escocásticas where they discussed the incorporation of AI throughout the work environment, and their responses were that the profession that was most "safe" was that of the artist. What defines an artistic project It is the style (which combines a vision of art accompanied by a specific context, its own unique technique and a unique creative process), and that (at least for the moment) cannot be imitated by any AI."
"Regarding drawing, the main advantage that I see, and because it is the language that best suits me, is the ease with which it combines text. A drawing speaks for itself, a text too, but when both complement each other "They are my favorite works."
Froy Bustos: "It is clear that they are key factors that condition drawing and illustration today. I sincerely believe that over the next few years we will see how these factors will condition the styles of many authors. Personally my style has a lot to do with abstraction of forms and is presented as a modern alternative to the idiosyncrasies of classicism. Therefore, it is clear that this style will always vary and adapt together to these new currents.
Sara Sanchez: "I see AI as a tool that complements my work and improves it, but it is not a substitute for it. When photography appeared, everyone thought that drawing and illustration would die, but that was not the case, and it is because the drawing of "an artist not only shows what is drawn but also what he sees and how he sees it. This human component remains essential for any artistic creation and is what brings the viewer closer to the work."
Taking into account the origin of the proposal, to what extent has academics helped you conceive this work?
Isabella Sampietro: "Academic training has allowed me to organize the whirlwind of ideas that arise as well as capture them in an appropriate image and decide the aspects that give the creation an artistic character."
Alba Aparicio: "It has provided me with technical and conceptual knowledge to create the piece I had conceived and transform it into a work with my own style."
Froy Bustos: "What is clear is that an academic training in the artistic field always conditions you as an artist. When I draw or when I research the topics I deal with, I always have a context of knowledge about the subject behind me. This means that no decision is subordinated at random, but all the work is the result of a few years of training and knowledge previously acquired and worked on."
Sara Sanchez: "Academics have helped me especially on a technical level. Thinking about all the details about the presentation of my work is just as important as the work itself, that vision has been acquired thanks to the preparation of many academic works and having to present them, receive criticism and accept changes, getting an idea of what the working world is like."
What are your clearest influences?
Isabella Sampietro: "Since I was little I was curious about “the afterlife” that is how I accessed literature related to the violent, dark, dark and occult. My illustrations try to manifest the abstract with forms that show the hidden using fantastic creations."
Alba Aparicio: "My main influence for this project and for my way of seeing art in general is the illustrator Vorja Sánchez, whose creative workshop I recently attended that I greatly enjoyed. His way of seeing art, its purity and spirituality have clearly affected my illustrations."
"I take a lot of inspiration from mythology and also from literature, especially fantastic literature. Books like “The Name of the Wind” by Patrick Rothfuss or “The Lord of the Rings” by Tolkien, among others. Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and her great imagination have also greatly influenced my way of seeing art and fantastic worlds as a healing process from the imagination, in the same way as different mythologies such as the Egyptian or Japanese.
Froy Bustos: "I have always been influenced by graffiti and the most contemporary trends in urban art. As a tattoo artist
I have also been influenced by the currents of the ignorant style, which is a very specific style of tattoo in
where the lines predominate. Some of my references are tattoo artists like egosumluxmundi or cos.915. However, at the level of forms, themes and compositions, I am also greatly inspired by the artistic contexts of Renaissance and Neoclassicism, as well as by all the authors who have worked in these currents."
Sara Sanchez: "One of my biggest influences is Jules Verne and his scientific novel, which seems to me to be the perfect combination of art and science. Others could be illustrators like Wayne Barlowe or Katie Scott."
As an artist, what do you hope for the future?
Isabella Sampietro: "Continue in art actively as an instrument that integrates social systems with natural ones. Manage to define and specify my role from an artistic point of view. I hope that art is valued not only as something contemplative but as a medium that transmits culture and history. I hope and wish that technology does not displace human creativity but, on the contrary, contributes to artistic expression by enhancing human capacity."
Alba Aparicio: "Of the future? That art continue to be appreciated as now, or even more than now, despite new technologies. And that the magic of the simple, the natural, of purity far removed from fashions and institutions is not lost. Only bet on a good idea and carry it out. I prefer not to expect anything from my future, but to get to work."
Froy Bustos: "Although the future is something uncertain that is yet to be written, I do expect a notable evolution of the currents in which I am framed. It is always nice to see how things have changed and one feels nostalgic when one looks back. But if something I hope it is definitely evolution. Evolution both in the creative process and in the different fashions or artistic styles that may be on the rise in the future."
Sara Sanchez: "As an artist I hope to continue being faithful to what I am passionate about and combine it with my work."
Is there an ideal project that you would like to be commissioned?
Isabella Sampietro: "I would love to illustrate dramatic stories and also manga. In reality I would like to work in coordination with authors of stories in which I would put the image to animate and make the plot in question more attractive. That is to say visualize it in a way that can be capture in image the realities created by the author."
Alba Aparicio: "I would love to be part of any project that has to do with literature or the publishing world, from participating in a graphic novel, to designing a cover or creating a series of illustrations for a children's book. Of course, ideally "It would be publishing my own novels (illustrated or not), but it is a path that I am in the process of building."
Froy Bustos: "Of course any content framed in classicism or history in general. What I draw is always very inspired by the monumentality and complexity of the forms of great authors in the history of art that we can find in the Prado. Whenever I go I find infinite inspiration in all these compositions and forms. As I also work in different artistic fields apart from illustration, such as tattooing, design or art, practically any work related to this historical theme will always interest me."
Sara Sanchez: "Given that my work is aimed at scientific illustration, I would be especially excited to participate in zoology and biology projects, where field work is something of utmost importance to observe and learn from what I illustrate. Working hand in hand with "Scientists and researchers contributing my artistic vision of scientific facts would be the ideal assignment for me."
