Sofia Baraya (1993) is a Colombian visual artist living in London. She´s a graphic designer with a soul of an artist. Her cultural heritage – Colombian- Spanish-Lebanese – and life experiences have made her into who she is today. Growing up in Mexico gave her a glimpse of what a world permeated with folklore could be; how vibrant colors positively impact or life and sensations. 

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She’s worked in editorial design, advertisement and marketing.  Her involvement in these creative industries shaped her creativity. After living a square-traditional existence, she had the courage to pursuit what she really wanted; to be an artist. Studying graphic design was the first step into liberating her creativity. Her mind was “shaped” to the conventional stereotypes, but her hands and soul refused them.  

 

As a latina emerging artist, Sofia’s work constantly questions and evidences the concept of hybrid identity, cultural influences, collective memory and change. Her multi-cultural heritage influences Sofia’s great interest for “traditional” graphic representations from different cultures that have emotionally impacted her. 

 

Through experimentation with different techniques–painting, digital art, sculpture and mixed media collage–her practice expresses a dialogue between traditional decorative elements with contemporary visual referents. She reinterprets the graphic language of traditional textiles and tiles (“azulejos”) by blending these with her own designs. A mixture of contrasting aesthetics, mediums and techniques, that reveal her interest in harmony and balance; and her thorough attention to detail–which brings a particular sensual character to her work.

 

Sofia is also interested in the impact of time on the constant creation of cultural hybrid identities: how past, present and future are bonded through a Butterfly Effect, in which each one traces its own path but directly affects and depends on the other. In this way, her work seeks to balance these multiple influences, realities, times and memories–by remarking the absence of a unique-pure identity.