Tania’s paper figures Poo they make the imagination travel at the speed of light, but not to the sky, but to the bowels of the sea.
Suddenly you find yourself in a mysterious world where dozens of fish in vibrant blue, purple and orange colors hypnotize you with their beauty. Your body relaxes and you can’t help but let out expressions of surprise and smiles of pleasure.
The three-dimensional creations of the Mexican artist are delicate and extremely fragile, but they have the power to remind human beings of the beauty of nature through a mixture of different paper textures, cuts, folds, and colors.
Giant Betta by Tania Póo Platas, on display Extra + Ordinary at the Mexican Consulate in Los Angeles.
(James Carbone)
La imaginationfromn of this immigrant has led her to be the star guest of two exhibitions in Arkansas and now Los Angeles.
“I love to surprise people regarding how with something as common and ordinary as paper, which is used on a daily basis, they can create something so beautiful that they can do it themselves,” said the native of Mexico City.
“My goal is that when people see my work they reflect on the beauty of nature and that we must take care of it. Nature, like paper, is fragile, but beautiful and has a lot to teach us,” said the 37-year-old artist.
The inspiration for the world of paper in which Póo lives began when she was a little girl. In an unexpected moment her love of crafts and marine life merged into one.
Póo’s parents, Mrs. Ivonne Platas and Mr. Manuel Valdez, are divers and diving instructors, and that is how, at the age of six, she learned to dive, giving birth to a love for marine life.
“Seeing the reefs is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. The sea is another world. Immersed in it you realize that you are very small and that there is an immensity of life that you do not know”, said Póo.
“I find the delicacy of the animal, the details that make it up, and then that desire to recreate the pieces and show its beauty to the whole world is triggered,” said the Glendale resident.
Poo also remembers growing up in the home with three huge fish tanks, which he viewed as if they were televisions.
“Animals have their own personalities, and fish are no exception. They even recognize you. I had two puffers, and one was very territorial and a ‘bully,’” said Póo.
The sea has not only inspired the immigrant to recreate pieces of animals such as betta fish, puffer fish, angels, trout and goldfish, but also wild animals. When she was little, her uncle Enrique took her to visit the zoo, where he worked. Then she Poo had the opportunity to see exotic animals up close such as vipers, tigers and falcons.
“I learned then that every animal on this earth deserves respect, that many of these animals are misunderstood, and that people go by myths and then attack or even kill them, when they are an important part of the ecosystem,” said the artist.
Among these animals, Póo has a great connection with the vipers, which he makes by hand, because in them he sees the transformation of life and the detachment from what is no longer useful when they shed their skin.
She suggests that people be driven not by fear but by curiosity to learn from animals.
“The viper sheds its skin, one has to get rid of what one no longer needs, just like them,” he said.
Along with love for nature, Poo loved crafts. She loved making little notebooks and coloring.
It was not until he was 18 that his two great loves submerged and the role became a bridge between reality and his ideas.
The young woman began to decorate the facade of her house annually with the theme of Day of the Dead and Halloween for competitions between neighbors.
One year she decorated her home as if it were a witch’s house. So she made jars with specimens inside for eyes, put rats, spiders and various ornaments out of recycled material. Another year she decorated her home with a UFO theme, and she created a spaceship that had crashed into her home, she also made a graveyard and a bug house.
However, the paper was the key to continue working on his fish and snakes.
Among the goals that Póo has with his works is to collaborate with different brands to create showcases, work with non-profit organizations to promote care for the environment and the protection of corals, and make more works not only to show in galleries but in libraries.
But recreating an animal on paper is not easy. Today, making a figure completely by hand to Poo It is a challenge that you enjoy. Each piece is different depending on its scale and three-dimensionality.
A piece of four by two meters takes regarding two to three months, a piece for example a betta fish, 15 centimeters wide and long, can take a week.
The manual work to make his figures also requires a lot of patience. Behind each piece there is an exhaustive investigation and analysis of the fish that you want to make, and devise how you can work on each of its characteristics.
After that, Póo makes the sketch, traces molds to make the bodies of the animals, cuts, chooses the best paper and then does the volumetry, that is, the shape that each animal should take.
Poo Confidence that making a piece requires a lot of patience because there is a lot of repetition in certain patterns that animals have, such as scales or the surface of corals.
“Cut, shape and glue over and over once more. That is where I must arm myself with patience. I like to be meticulous,” said Póo, who graduated as an architect from the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City in 2010 and received her degree in 2011.
After five years of intense study, following graduation, the young woman worked for regarding five years as a project architect in various architecture offices in the Mexican capital, drawing architectural plans.
In 2016, Póo moved to the United States to Little Rock, Arkansas following getting married.
Since then the artist concentrated on creating more works. As an autodidact, she has found her own technique to make her own creations. Having studied architecture has given him practice in taking the craft to a more professional and refined level when making models for college.
He has also learned to use tools that make his work easier, such as drills, chisels, scissors and other materials.
So far, his work has been presented in September 2019 in an exhibition called “Latinos Unidos Exhibit” in Little Rock, Arkansas.
In April 2021, he was able to exhibit his work at ACANSA Gallery, in the same state. And this September 2022 his work is presented in the exhibition “EXTRA + ORDINARY PAPER”, at the General Consulate of Mexico in Los Angeles located at 2401 W 6th St, Los Angeles.
Cynthia Prida, head of the consulate’s cultural affairs department, said the work of Poo It is valuable from different points of view.
“We had not had any single artist at the consulate who made sculpture on paper. Póo’s work is highly original. Our mission is focused on emerging artists, who better than a Mexican who makes a contribution during Hispanic Heritage Month”, said Prida.
“We didn’t plan this, but touching on the subject of habitat preservation through the art of this Mexican woman, during these intense heats that we experience in California, is perfect because it allows us to reflect on the damage we do to nature,” said Prida. .
The head of the department of cultural affairs of the consulate said that anyone who wants to get to see the artist’s art is going to get many surprises, because in one of her pieces she touches on the subject of death; a reflection to the celebration of life and a message of urgent change in the actions of the human being to continue conserving nature.
The exhibition is presented until October 21.