“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.” - Brené Brown
“Vulnerable” is the representation of personal emotions and experiences through photographic hybridizations and self-portrait photography.
Gabby Villalba's new body of photographic work was born during the days of the Covid lockdown in 2020. The artworks emerged from places of personal reflection resulting from the limitations of that time. “My state of mind was a mix of feeling, conscious mindfulness and grateful presence entangled with nostalgia and frustrations experienced as an immigrant; it felt, at times, to have a hybrid quality,” Gabby says. The concept, format and aesthetics of "Vulnerable'' convey that experience.
In self-portrait photography, I have found the opportunity to connect with my deepest emotions, allowing me to express what I feel, more than what I see. The articulation of the idea has necessitated a change in the way I work, manually intervening with trusted processes, repeating others, incorporating mixed media and in some cases discarding the camera altogether in favour of the cyanotype process.* My interests in design, poetry, nature and spirituality inform the interventions, imbuing the unconventional processes with personal significance.
*Cyanotype is an alternative photographic process that produces images within the range of ultraviolet and blue light spectrum. It was introduced by John Herschel in 1842. Sir John was an astronomer trying to find a way of copying his notes. One of the first practical applications of the cyanotype process was by Anna Atkins, who in 1843 used it to produce and photographically illustrate a book on botany.
