Tanya Mascarenhas
University: Goldsmiths University
Graduation Year: 2023
New Blood Art Commentary
The power and meaning invoked in Mascarenhas’ ceramics is derived from their simplicity. Images of people, always faceless and anonymous, are paired with objects and animals to form compelling images. We never know exactly what is going on, but there is always the feeling of hope and possibility. They are images of people getting by. Rather than static, there is a lyricality embedded in the paint, the potential for life, for dance, and for celebration.
The gloss of Tanya Mascarenhas’ ceramics catches the light, providing a background upon which scenarios and stories can unfold. Drawing on a training in art history, Mascarenhas combines family photos with a wider set of cultural markers that span music, in particular jazz and hip-hop; natural history, recalling childhood museum visits; and politics, asking questions of how individual and collective narratives collide, enabling us to make sense of both past and present, as we to look to build a better future.
Artist Statement
I am a London-based artist. I developed an interest for art and culture through the acquiring of artefacts and objects from travels. Observing historical links with narratives, culture, politics and society allows me to make a connection with art. I am moved by music and lyricism which allow me to piece my artworks together as a narrative. I adopt an expressive means of painting in line with different forms of music genres including jazz and hip-hop which allow me to bring life to still images. Depicting moments involving people and their individual and collective histories is my way of addressing the past while looking forward to the future. My studies of people are taken from a digital and physical archive of photographs involving family members, friends and even strangers in different environments, both internal and external. These contexts are reimagined and restored in my extended body of work.