In the midst of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, the work Transit demonstrates two readings. The first is the transmutation of the physical body, the woman with the mask, into a body, already without a mask, shape by waves of energy. This would be composed of the dissolution of life, of thoughts, and of the very existence of this physical body. As shown by the yellow light, that is, the vital energy and its fragments that go through the body, and that comes out through breathing. The second reading is the duality between the future freedom of society and also the imprisonment of thoughts, loneliness, and anguish that have entered our minds with the pandemic, social isolation.
Daniela Braga Santos, Transit, digital, 2339 x 3307 pixels. February 10, 2022.
Dissolving is a work that brings a reflection of the Covid-19 period, in which all the certainties of things like life and death dissolve into a shapeless mass. The dissolving head, as in billowing smoke, demonstrates the internal conflicts, especially those of the mind, that surfaced during the pandemic. As a result of the intensity of the increase in the number of people with panic syndromes, depression, anxiety…, in other words, in a destabilization of the mind, as if the body itself dissolved amidst the chaos.
Daniela Braga Santos, Dissolving, digital, 3000 x 3700 pixels. February 10, 2022.
The Last Breath brings the feeling of hope, that the last breath of life is a transmutation of the body into another shape of existence amidst the stars, the universe. So simultaneously with the death of the physical body itself, another being created, the figure in pink. This relationship showed by the bundles of life energy leaving the orange and blue body to shape the pink body, which also diffuses and connects in a tear, like a galactic pathway. The blue band covering the eyes shows that this transition into the unknown cannot be seen, being intrinsic to the subconscious. The hand touching the face represents the comfort of not being alone, in moments of loneliness and social isolation.
Daniela Braga Santos, The Last Breath, digital, 2339 x 3307 pixels. February 11, 2022.
The work "The Air I Breathe" emerges as a composition of the afflictions of the collective and the individual, experienced during the period 2019-2021 of the Covid-19 pandemic. The work that is withstanding by digital space, starts from the reflection of the apprehension of quarantine scenario with the increase of environmental devastation, with illegal burning. Thus, the visual narrative built around five elements: 1) the female body, representing the 2% increase in femicide in Brazil, 2) the use of the masks, as an element of protection from the virus and pollutants in the air; 3) the branches of leaves, seeking a way to represent the attempt to find in nature something that filters the air, making the air that means death, return to have the meaning of life; 4) the stains in shades of purple, orange, and gray denote the image of chaos, of contaminated air, and 5) which encompasses the torn chest, showing the feeling of emptiness and loneliness of the individual and the collective. The budding flowers bring a reminder of hope despite adversity. In the background everything contained by small lines, showing the fragment, our day-to-day reality that was broken, but that remains united so that we can move on. The composition has the intention of creating a dialogue between visual art and the digital media, which have become important mediation withstand. Thus, expressing a visual narrative by creating subjective associations and visualizes that seek to capture the essence of human emotions.
Daniela Braga Santos, The Last Breath, digital, 2480 x 3508 pixels. 2021.
About The Artist
"I am a visual artist and a Brazilian architect and urban planner. I work with digital art and try to bring to my works a critical reflection of the world, as well as explore the world of fantasy."
- Daniela Braga Santos