We tend to dismiss what we don't understand, mostly because we can't connect to it. We call it too abstract sometimes. But often we regret losing touch with it without being able to find a soothing reason. Have you ever felt you're mentally returning to a person, thing, word, situation while trying to find a deeper meaning, one that brings a sense of balance? Was it ever hard to arrive peacefully to let go without feeling you're giving up on something important? Maybe sometimes we break up with something that isn't toxic at all, even if it feels very uncomfortable. Remember the pain in the bones while growing up? What about the excitement about arriving at that promised age of freedom? Have you already arrived there? Have you ever stopped growing?

I never dared to call myself an artist. I, instead, secretly wore a heavy mask in an exhausting quest to escape a socially induced self-perception, that of a misfit. This intense attempt to break free spans more than 15 years spent studying and creating projects that explore architecture, digital design, and contemporary jewelry. I'm 36 now.

This work started in a Romanian village, while in self-isolation for more than 3 months during the Covid-19 2020 spring lockdown. It pilled up in an intimate collection of introspective posters meant to curate unfiltered emotions experienced during this strange time when the whole world was trying to survive an overwhelming panic attack. Paradoxically, the mask, the official trademark of the fatal disease, is, at the same time, the only way to keep the situation under control and marketed as a sign of respect towards life. In front of this dystopic tsunami, getting rid of the mask has become a collective struggle.

With Soul Eruption, I embody an inquisitive multidisciplinary artist that explores the excentric layers of the human fabric. I usually start with an emotion, that occupies a volume in me and I mark that space somewhere on my digital canvas. Then the symbiotic flow process of opening and being open has its own authority.

I use grids, geometry, and raw pieces of disturbances, to emphasize my intimate relationship with different contexts and situations. I’m very intense in dissecting human nature, politics, exploring the infinite habitat cells – the longing for nature and urban life, the social outcome of (digital) art creation, the evolution of cultural perception, and sense of belonging. My art practice is most of the time a meditative process focused on exploring, learning, and getting closer to the core. I’m very intrigued by the transformative strength I feel it has, and I relish the challenges of this delicate process. While my visual language is sometimes very brisk, the hidden layers talk about the need for diligence, creating time, showing up, and kindly trying to offer oneself the gift of attention every day. The hurdle is to embrace imperfection with compassion and give flexibility a chance to manifest, give up rigidity, and allow space for growth.

Soul Eruption wants to showcase the intricate, intense self-discovery journey through a set of digital illustrations. It is a virtual gallery of independence declarations, and, paradoxically, at the same time, an open invitation sent to that long-time missed part of the world longing to embrace a free spirit. This work of art wants to grow as an artistic entity that transcends the borders and limitations of social isolation.

All this continues to be signed by the same author, a philomath doing some unlabeled kind of art, a nomad Romanian-born creative woman working with digital, abstract, and introspective visual concepts and playing with her dearest toys: technology, curiosity, and imagination. Sending all of you some bits of bling-bling love, Ana Baciu. ​​​​​​​

Please visit https://www.anase.art/ to view the entire poster collection. Don't hesitate to leave your comments and feedback! <3

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