The artist and activist was part of the Converse call, The Converse All Star, a space for fighters who, through their voice and artistic expression, seek a better future. The main theme of the mural he made for the campaign is the embrace as a revolutionary act.
© Fito Buitrago
For Ela Rincón, art helps to repair, heal and remember… it is a way of making herself heard and raising her voice for the social causes she supports. / courtesy
How have you experienced this process of pandemic and confinement?
I believe that behind every crisis there is room for opportunity. I experienced the pandemic in every possible way, from personal transformation to loss, discomfort, and pain. These were times that revealed many things that we had not wanted to see: it brought to the surface the shortcomings, injustices and inequalities in which we live as a society. That not all of us might experience the crisis in the same way. That not all of us can shelter at home and heal. It was also an opportunity to look within, to recognize and not silence the symptoms of uncertainty. I think that healing is not medicine, healing is asking ourselves why it hurts and recognizing ourselves as vulnerable.
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And professionally?
I found myself creatively, but I also saw many businesses fall, like my parents’. I might see how that urge to take care of ourselves among independents was born, supporting local projects, buying from the neighbor, helping with the merchandise of my illustrator friends, homes were created to buy directly from peasants. For me it was beautiful to see how a support network was built since the crisis, to see how awareness was raised in all directions.
How did you get the invitation to be part of the Converse campaign and why did you accept?
I remember it was exactly a year ago, I received an email with the proposal to be part of this project and I felt a very authentic connection with the purpose of this mural, with the message they wanted to convey, the possibilities and the freedom they gave me to express myself. as an artist.
Tell us a little regarding what this campaign The Converse All Star is regarding and what your participation consists of
The Converse All Star, for me, is an opportunity to have a megaphone, which has the advantage of generating dialogues regarding the role that a mural in the middle of the city can play in this case. This action can burst, transform realities and daily dynamics of the people who see it and walk through these streets. This voice seeks to be more inclusive, it seeks to leave a legacy and a change through the small activisms that we artists have, which concern community life. It is very strong to see that this project is already going around the world, with murals in Poland, Brazil, the Philippines, Australia, South Africa, Chile and Mexico, where the protagonist is the message.
Where did your love for art come from?
For me, it started at a very young age, it became the easiest way to communicate, filter my emotions, represent my experiences, understand my surroundings. It was always a game and the most authentic way I conceive of being myself.
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In addition to being a mural artist, she is also active in social struggles. Do you think that art is a way to express ideas and carry out social protest?
As a feminist, bisexual woman and artist, I venture to say that I have a legacy of many historical struggles. The path of the female artist has been opened with her nails and I thank my female artist predecessors, who broke many gaps that have made our work easier. Being an active voice within who I am and what I do is a responsibility, but for me it is very important to contribute something to those changes that I want to see generated. I have found in art a channel where I can connect with other experiences, other struggles, where we can come together to be able to raise our voice. For me, all collective processes are, in the end, the sum of individuals who decide to participate there and add their vision and action. I like a phrase that says: “For everything that unites us, once morest everything that separates us”.
What do you seek to express through your art?
I paint to repair, to shout, to remember, to denounce, to heal and sometimes in my free time I paint just to paint.
Tell us regarding the mural you made for the campaign, what is the story behind it?
It was a piece that was thought of being away from all the people I wanted to embrace and contain. The theme is the hug as a revolutionary act, as a reunion to be in contact once more, following so much disconnection. The flower I depicted is a magnolia, also known as the heart flower, and has been used for many generations in traditional medicine to treat heart ailments. It was once believed that by macerating this flower together with other herbs, a glue was created that might join the parts of a broken heart. Reuniting following the crisis.
What do you think of initiatives like The Converse All Star and how do you think they help the art movement and the country?
I feel that they are opportunities and tools that help us artists, so that our voice has more breadth and diffusion. In the end, it is not an message saying “buy this”. I connected at a time when they wanted to prioritize the message that I, as a woman artist, wanted to leave on the streets.
What art projects do you have for next year?
I intend to participate in several mural festivals next year, travel with a brush in hand and leave my pieces in many cities and towns.