Between letting in other visitors and taking care of her baby daughter, Rosa still has some minutes to talk to us. Full-time artist and now also full-time mom, Rosa Maria Baquero grew up in Columbia and only came to the UK two years ago after having spent time working in New Zealand and traveling through Africa.
Fascinated by art ever since she was a child, she did an arts degree back home in Columbia. Although she is also interested in photography and installations, her main focus lies on painting and the way she works is really fascinating.
“When I arrived in New Zealand and England, I realized that there were many many charity shops around. I saw people giving away old paintings as if they didn’t care at all. So I decided to take old paintings from the charity shops and give them love again and recycle them”, Rosa explains to us. When traveling through Africa, she also learned how to knit so-called African Flowers by using old plastic bags.
With this profound sense for recycling, no wonder Rosa immediately found inspiration in The Wombles, the furry characters of the like-named 80s children television show, when she found out about the TV show thanks to her husband.
“The Wombles are characters that I really identify with because they do all this recycling work and I feel like I am a bit similar to them in the way that they are taking care of the environment. I love them.”
Environment sure is an important inspiration for her, as are the different weather situations she experienced during her travels and animals that figure in most of her paintings. Seeing elephants and zebras on her journey through Namibia and experiencing seasons for the first time when she came to England were two experiences that left their marks on her.
The main reason for her to do art is giving a message to people. Deeply concerned with justice, she wants to point out to the public that “things are not right”, as she explains.
Rosa Maria Baquero is showcasing at venue 5 on the Seven Dials Trail. You can also find her on facebook.
The Artists Open Houses are still on this weekend.
