Art Talks

A Reflection on Confinement

Historically, women have suffered enough restrictions due to the oppressive patriarchal culture that dominated for centuries. Decades ago the feminist movement took a bolder stance and it became widespread. Starting from democratic territories throughout other scopes of influence it was able to reach more with the help of media and cultural exchanges through travels. Such freedom was interrupted not just against women, but also for the rest of humanity as the current pandemic broke out and required restrictions for the sake of survival. This situation was expressed through the works of Zaballero, Galon and Baradi as they tackled the subject of confinement. Zaballero’s painting showed a different tone from her usual body of work through her reduced elements in her portrayal of a bedroom and window view. With an attempting abstract form through the perceived light and air blending with the creases of the sheets, it tells the monotony of days spent in the same space.  Galon’s play with dimensions showed not just a trapped human subject inside a space but also a world that seem to represent what was supposed to be outside. Baradi’s enclosed spaced is even more cramped as she portrayed a simulated paradise inside a bottle with a woman’s nude figure that seem to convey freedom to bare oneself in the security of that enclosed space. Or maybe, she was baring herself to feel free from the suffocating space. These artists from different generations lived in a time that marks the current century, and through their art chronicled the sentiment of vast individuals in their restrictive abode.