Since her return to Paris last May, Lala Drona doesn’t seem to be able to keep her feet on the ground! From France, to Spain and now to Portugal, her European tour is causing a media art frenzy!
In June 2018, Lala began her European tour at an art residency in Seville, Spain. She spoke with the local media before her exhibition there “The Power of the Click” to tell them that she had been staying at the residency with seven other women artists from around the world. “I had already lived with seven women once in a favela in Brazil in 2010, so I had my reservations about living with so many women at once, however, I was surrounded by so many talented, warm-hearted and hard-working artists. I felt fortunate to be part of such an incredible team.”
“The Power of the Click” triptych by Lala Drona
She went on to explain that the ecosystem of feminine energy and experience intensified her feminist beliefs and contributed to the creation of her triptych “The Power of the Click”—a piece which examines how our digital actions on women’s bodies can have consequences in the real world. She continues to have strong links with some of the artists, and says that these artists support and inspire each other everyday through voice message notes.
Lala returned to Paris in August, where she recharged and replenished her inspiration receptors. It was during this time that she locked herself in to her workshop and broadened the scope through which she viewed her current area of artistic research.
Title: Speak or Listen, Artist: Lala Drona, Acrylic on canvas 50cm x 60cm Paris France, 2018
She had been sensing the world changing due to the growth of social media, a positive change where everyone started to have an opinion and exercised their voice. And at the same time, a rise in the tendency to not listen to people when recounting their experiences. “It’s important to remember that every conversation is not an attack or a debate, but that sometimes we are just sharing stories.
Title: Zoom in 1, Artist: Lala Drona, Acrylic on canvas 50cm x 60cm Paris France, 2018
We don’t always have to prepare a rebuttal. I notice a lack of picking up on those conversational nuances, a lack of knowing when to listen, and when to speak. That’s why I created this painting [Speak or Listen].”
Through September and October, Lala stayed in Paris to show her work in an exhibition in the Marais, and work in another art residency. Here, she decided to create 3 different paintings on one canvas (each new painting covering the last). This concept aimed to push the artist to experiment and develop her style without the pressure of “the end result” looming over. “I took aspects from the first and second paintings that I liked, and integrated them into the third painting.
Title: Presenteeism, Artist: Lala Drona, Acrylic on canvas 100cm x 100cm Paris France, 2018
This method also gave me the freedom to try out new concepts in the first two draft paintings to know if I liked them enough to try them again in future paintings.” She finished with the piece “Presenteeism,” a painting which examines how social media contributes to the overwhelming pressure to be seen/present at all times. Lala plans to continue developing the geometric style found in this painting and further research the topic of how our digital lives on social media and the internet affect us IRL.
During the months of November and December, Lala will participate in another artist in residency program in Alentejo, Portugal. Here, she will continue research on her topic and create 2-3 painting to be shown in an exhibition in Portugal in December. “I’m going into my project in Portugal with an open mind. I’m waiting to be inspired by the moment. I will definitely continue researching the same topic, but I have no images in mind yet.”
As far as the rest of the year goes, Lala has plenty of projects lined up. We’ve heard rumours of Norway and New York, and have confirmed that she’ll have an exhibition in Lithuania this summer, and another in Finland in the fall. Get ready to see a lot of Lala Drona in 2019.
Jeff Southers, Columbus Ohio Journal of the Creative Arts
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