Abigail Villarroel and Oliver Bliss
Abigail Villarroel was paired with textile-based artist Oliver Bliss and explored new directions in his painting, expanding his approach and scale. Abigail’s paintings investigate identity, belonging, and personal history. They bring together his Venezuelan heritage and queer experience and show how these identities connect.
In his Made in the Middle exhibition piece Llevo tu luz y tu aroma en mi piel / I carry your light and scent on my skin, Abigail uses symbols of Venezuelan culture to reflect on his connection to his homeland. These include the national flower, the orchid, and the liqui-liqui, a formal suit traditional to eastern Venezuela and his birthplace, Maturín. The figure in the painting uses these elements to reconnect with his nationality, bringing a sense of home back into himself.
Abigail experimented with ideas, concepts, techniques and practice research in Oly’s studio in Worcester and outside the sessions. The project included a trip to visit exhibitions in London. A memorable moment for Abigail was seeing Maggi Hambling’s self-portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, which helped him to shape the direction of his final piece.
“It’s made me feel like I’m getting the art education I didn’t get, and maybe even better.”
Crafting Pathways
Part of Made in the Middle, Crafting Pathways pairs young people with professional artists to develop their artistic skills, interests and identities, and learn more about what it is like to work as an artist.
Research, documentation and storytelling by Hayley Salter, a Birmingham based photographer, film-maker and creative producer.
