Interview of Natalia Lara Diaz-Berrio

Artist Interview: Natalia Lara Díaz-­‐Berrio

By Keli Chiu Natalia describes herself as a curious person who always desires to acquire knowledge about how the world runs itself. Her curiosity had directed her to be a science student in her secondary education. She was fond of classes like biology and physics for the abundant knowledge they provided for her to make sense of the surroundings. Rationality had dominated her as a tool to understand the world.

However, there were times she found herself enchanted by some irrational unknown. One time in biology class, she was assigned to observe an onion cell slide and to sketch the observation on paper. She was stunned by the beauty of the image under microscope and found herself immersed in the process of sketching the image. This experience aspired her to attend drawing classes aside, and finally, she felt intrinsically compelled to pursue a degree in fine art instead of science study in college. The visual art undergraduate program in University of Mexico City was her first formal education of fine art. She was enrolled in studio art classes of painting and photography, which are the two disciplines she practices the most. However, she did not finish the degree and moved to Canada to continue her education in studio art program in Concordia University.

Natalia refers to photography as her main artistic practice. However, she positions herself as a visual artist who practices photography but not a photographer. She is deeply influenced by the field of photojournalism for it produces powerful photographs that document and advocate various issues. She also admires photojournalists who have access to unusual locations or occasions, which allow them to have close contact with their subjects. Natalia takes mostly portrait photographs of ordinary people with natural light in unstaged scenes. She is more concerned with truthful observations rather than creative expressions achieved by photography. However, Natalia does not think that photography is an objective medium because it risks becoming restricted to one particular perspective.

However, photograph with its capacity of capturing reality is a faithful transmitter of Natalia’s vision. In contrast with the instant image formation of photography,

painting is a progressive process that Natalia also appreciates. Painting is the secondary artistic practice of Natalia. She is drawn to the medium of oil because of its intensity of colour and texture; she describes the medium as “delicious” for its sensuous and expressive quality“Identity” is the thematic framework that penetrates Natalia’s work. This is closely related to her migration experience from Mexico to Canada. She had been through an uncomfortable adaptation process, which pushed her to revise her relation to the surroundings. She is interested in the “gaze” of how people perceive her and how she perceives herself as an Mexican immigrant in the “host” culture. Natalia expands the issue of identity from herself to other Mexican immigrants worldwide. In her most recent project, "Expatria", Natalia undertook a journey in Europe and North America, where she photographed 35 Mexican immigrants with different ages and professions. The photographs show the Mexicans immigrants in their intimate spaces and invite viewers to observe the authentic realities. She is unease with the stereotypes imposed by media on Mexican immigrants as minority group that is uneducated and marginalized. She intends to trigger questionings about migration, integration and stereotypes people have toward Mexican cultures. The photographs were displayed in collective exhibitions in both Mexico and Canada. Natalia was deeply rewarded by this project because in the end, it not only voiced the resistance to cultural stereotypes, but also became a platform for the Mexican immigrants to share struggles.