Photograph:
M., 2021
By Santiago Cervantes
M. is a Mexican American writer, painter and sculptor that resides in Los Angeles, California.
Currently he works mainly on canvas and paper, with a strong focus on the use of different types of inks, which he combines with other materials.
The use of Ink emanates from his study of Traditional Chinese Martial Arts (Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Chi Gong). Ink is a very fluid and soft medium, which he analogs to the fluidity of the movements he’s learnt in his practice and the softness of them. Adding onto this, inks darken easy with layering, which is analog to the repetition of movement in Martial Arts, in which slowly we add new layers to certain motions we already know, creating depth in each of them.
Also, Ink easily reflects the consequences of our actions, as the material easily creates uncontrolled chaos and splatters. As in life, everything we do carries with it unplanned repercussions which we must undeniably learn to accept and live with.
Further, M. currently studies the ideas of integrating the body, mind, and soul into one, as well as the collision of his internal Ying Yang; his order and chaos; feminine and masculine, using principles of geometry and symbology.
M. believes basic shapes are deeply ingrained in humanity’s search for answers, and that their use individually or in combinations, can help us understand more about what and who we are, as well as can transform and modify not only his own points of view and perspectives, but those of others.
M. applies the concepts of decomposition, layering and blurring which he achieves by combining different materials and by collaging certain parts of some pieces. The first as to express that to heal we first need to face our pain, which at many times break us, but only by facing those wounds do we become stronger, and they will never scar unless treated. The second to express that we aren’t flat beings, but that there are many levels to who we are. The last, to show that we have forgotten where we come from and who we are; the elements that surrounds us; and the world that is our home. As, in a sense, our vision has become blurred by a myriad and constant stream of information which in the end only leads to the separation of our parts.
His practice centers mainly around the idea, that only by going through the crucible of personal improvement and self-work, can you improve how humanity interacts, how we treat the world around us, and how we react to situations in life, all by basing his work on spiritual and philosophical principles.