Conversation: In Conversation:
Tavarus Blackmon Gabriela Yoque
Tavarus
I’m here with Gabriela. Can you introduce yourself and describe your work and artwork?
Gabriela
Hi, so my name is Gabriela Yoque. I am a multimedia project-based artist. I’m based in Oakland and originally from San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles. So, my artwork, I always like describing it as project-based because I do jump around. I jump around themes, and I can’t really stick with the same medium for very long. I usually start with screen printing as a starting point. And then, whatever theme I’m working on, after playing around with it as a screen print, it usually jumps off into different mediums. That being said, a lot of the work I do is usually personal. It’s based on personal narratives and naturally ends up referencing or re-analyzing social constructs or social justice issues.
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Tavarus
And what’s it been like over the last year, working at an art institution during the pandemic?
Gabriela
It’s been rough, mostly because I feel like I let go of my practice for personal reasons. But I’m working in an institution focusing on other people and making sure that they feel supported, and trying to move along this art space for other people. That being said, I also work in a very small, nonprofit organization, where we set the rules and tone for how this organization moves about the pandemic. We’ve gotten really positive feedback on when we reopened. People were really happy that like, oh, “At least you’re open, and I feel safe coming in here because of what you set up.” It’s been difficult, but at the same time it’s been really great, mostly when people were giving us that positive feedback of, “Okay, great, this has been worth it.”
Tavarus
So the theme of the exhibition is A Joy Unexpected, which is all about something positive that comes out of a challenging or difficult time. In line with that kind of methodology of care or healing , what methods of care have you initiated during this challenging time of COVID-19?
Gabriela
I don’t even know. The past year for me, it’s been a lot of discovering how to take care of myself emotionally. So, I feel like I’ve tried different things, but a lot of it has been cooking for myself, nourishing my body. That has been a huge help and especially because I have such an emotional connection to food. And then going outdoors, which in the beginning of the pandemic, I was avoiding. I was avoiding going anywhere, but then realizing that I take care of myself a lot when
