“Ellus” series, Created by Angélica Lima, Is A Singular Force Of Creative Expression, By Juliana Vannucchi

Born in Itapevi and currently residing in Sorocaba, Angélica Lima is a prominent artist in the region where she lives, and whose notable artistic productions have even broken the geographical limits of our country, gaining recognition abroad.

Always inspired by a red-hot creative flame that shines within you, Lima believes in art as a kind of awakening, as a process that, in his own words “it makes us remember that we are not machines, gears or raw material”.

Among his main aesthetic influences, meet Frida Kahlo, Anita Malfatti in her cubist phase, Picasso, also in its cubist phase, Cândido Portinari in all his periods, and street art, in general.

Lima's most popular creations are part of an illustrative line called Ellus, which consists of a series of distorted mask illustrations, created from illogical fragments of faces, and which are painted in diverse and vibrant tones, purposefully used to ensure joy in the images.

It's as if Andy Warhol and Salvador Dalí came together to do their best. Or, in other words, to bring this series to life, It's as if Angélica Lima brought together the talent of each of these painters and added to it a neat brushstroke of Dadaist irrationality.

The series Ellus, which became Lima's trademark, her embryo was formed in a class on geometric and organic shapes and primary colors that the young illustrator once taught to children in an art studio where she worked, called “Aquino Studio”, managed by artist Bibi Aquino.

In this regard, remembered: “We work with cardboard, using cut and paste shapes, creating a mask and using primary colors to color and decorate. Of course, the class was contextualized for the children with the presentation of cubism, works by Picasso and African and Amerindian masks, But what really motivated me with this series was the experience I had with the children and the results of our work”.

After this class, Lima began designing his own series of masks inspired by these works, as reflected:

“I can say that the series Ellus, was born from a catharsis after the interaction I experienced with the children, This experience made me get in touch with my own inner child., and so, discover the paths to an artistic production that was essentially mine, after studying so much other artists. It was something I experienced, chewed, swallowed and what I nourished myself with”.

Conceptually, within the renowned mask production range Ellus, Angélica Lima also added the deconstruction of gender, something I was understanding better at that time: “It is possible to observe that in masks, I often merge both gender expressions, or, then, I simply cancel them.”.

Regarding the aesthetic effect and the impacts it imagines having on viewers who come across this series, commented:

“I believe and hope to generate an effect linked to a peculiarity of mine, because these masks are my greatest artistic mark. Consequently, I hope that, over it, I look at the masks I make, people can recognize me there, remember me, feel my presence somehow. Anyway, I want people to recognize me with a drawing and not with this human form that wears clothes and drinks coffee.”.

The renowned collection Ellus, fascinates with its unique characterization and the originality of the mix it presents between shapes and colors.

In addition, its fantastic aura acts as a true portal that breaks the logical chains of the conscious plane, freeing the viewer so that they can enter an absolutely new and different universe.

For these reasons, we can say that they are illustrations that speak directly to our souls and, Maybe, in some incomprehensible way, let us find ourselves in that exuberant state of colorful fragments.

Perhaps, there are parts of ourselves that we lost at some point in our lives.

These are images, therefore, that elevates us, give us back senses and emotions that were not present before.

Instagram: @lima_ilustra

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