One Person’s Trash Is This Woman’s Art
IMAGE: FLICKR, ELISA NARANJA METÁLICA INSUA
By Andrea Romano From Mashable
Argentinean artist Elisa Naranja Metalica Insua lives in a world of color picked out of the garbage.
The 24-year-old specializes in mixed media art, which refers to the use of more than one medium to create an art piece. In Elisa Insua’s case, using small, everyday items — things she calls “resurrected trash” — and arranging them to create beautiful and fascinating works.
Insua began working with mixed media as a teenager. She began to create collages with random items she collected, and eventually her interest grew into an art form. “I was inspired by Argentinean artists Antonio Berni, Jorge de La Vega and Grupo Mondongo, who also played with mixed media. I grew to adore this technique and I let it evolve with me,” she said.
Pop culture inspires her art most. Many of her works center on characters from American films and TV, like her piece “Darth Vader Skywalker Hellwalker,” which she made out of iPods, computer chips and other old gadgets. “U.S. popular culture hits almost every corner of the globe — even Argentina … I’m interested in this phenomenon, and the power and universality of these symbols and icons,” Insua told Mashable.
Icons, in particular, inspire Insua to create some of her more meaningful works. One of her favorite pieces is “Jesus Life Saver,” a depiction of Jesus Christ made in buttons and beads, surrounded by flotation device. The striking image is only heightened by the cheeky play on words. Insua has several other pieces inspired by religious iconography.
Most of all, Insua hopes her work will make people see the world in a different way. “I like to make people happy, make them laugh … I like to transmit energy with my pieces, and also make the public reflect about our consumption society.”
Each item in her art work is placed deliberately and brings Insua’s unique perspective to her work, creating pieces that are not only gorgeous, but thought-provoking, as well.
Fans can see more of Elisa Insua’s delightful artwork on her Facebook page, or on her Flickr photostream.
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