'Refraction' by Maria Baez
2 colour hand-pulled screen print.
29.7 x 42 cm on 300gsm Munken Pure paper. Edition of 7, signed and numbered by the artist.
About the Piece
Refractions is a screen print made for the exhibition Electric Dreams. The background and shadows were generated through an artificial intelligence into which I fed the keyword prompts from the exhibition. This formed a bitmap that has provided the textures of the filled sections. The outline is a self-portrait of myself looking a my phone through the mirror.
The work addresses the ways in which artificial intelligence reflects the nature of the information it learned, and is therefore a mirror of humanity itself. As we stare into our devices and feed them with information that comes from both our faces and our actions, whilst looking at ourselves, these algorithms learn to become us. As they do, they in turn, shape our behaviour. Beyond just a critique of narcissism, this print reflects the fact we are in a process of becoming *with* algorithms.
About the Artist
Born in Madrid, Maria completed her BA in Fine Art at the University of Madrid, spending one year in Bordeaux where she studied sculpture. Maria moved to Dublin in 2016 and began to create illustrations of the distinct characters that she met on the streets across Ireland. Shortly before the pandemic, Maria returned to Madrid to study an MA in 2D Animation and Digital Illustration.
Following the pandemic, Maria took up a studio at La Catedral Studios in Dublin, and has since exhibited her illustrations and prints in various establishments across Dublin, including the Library Project in Temple Bar. She is focussed on using illustration as a means of storytelling and capturing both the different people and passings that make places what they are, and the experiences common to these places. Her works are rooted in the locale and yet distinctly relatable.
Additionally, Maria has started a small business designing and producing hand-made merchandise for bands, such as zines, risography prints and screen printed t-shirts, the most recent being Copenhagen's psychedelic rock band Cactus Fizz.
Framing
Frames can be purchased through Damn Fine Print in black, white and natural wooden finishes, here. Bespoke framing is also available. Please note framed orders must be collected from the store and can't be shipped.
Shipping and Returns
This print is sold unframed securely packaged in a cardboard tube, sent via An Post Standard Postage. For details on shipping and returns click here. Please note colours may vary between computer screens.
