Golden Years Portrait Series
Golden Years aims to portray the over-60s population with dignity and respect, as well as celebrate their lives and accomplishments. The project, which had been bubbling away under the surface for a number of years, suddenly came to life with the loss of my grandmother – and many other vulnerable seniors – to Covid-19. The series includes a portrait of my grandmother, called Stairway to Heaven. The other six portraits are painted in vibrant colours in recognition of their continuing contribution to society.
Throughout my photojournalism and art work, I have always striven to highlight the social inequities that are present in all societies and to express the need to challenge these social disparities, whether it be among the younger generation or the over 60s population. Growing up in Colombia and witnessing first-hand the lives of the underprivileged and vulnerable, I am keenly aware that I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity immigrate to the UK and begin a new life. One of the reasons I went to university was to equip myself with the tools to document the plight of the vulnerable.
Honorary Exhibitor: A Recognition of Artistic Excellence
In the realm of art, recognition and accolades are not just about the monetary value, but also about the acknowledgement of the artist's creativity, talent, and dedication. One such recognition came my way when I was honored with an Honorary Exhibitor award at the Visual Artist Association's Professional Working Artist Of The Year Awards 2023. Out of the eight thousand participants, I was among three others to receive this prestigious award.
All finalists’s can be viewed here:https://visual-artists.org/paa23-finalists/
In Febbruary 2023 I was approached and invited to Dublin University by Yellow Window a European think tank that had been commissioned by the European Union and the United Nations to research on the many issues in the pubic sector and social services that came to light during the pandemic that are lacking or failing the elderly to Resistiré https://zenodo.org/records/5361042 It was a three year project and Juliocesartist had the great privilege to take part on the the concluding open studio lab of the project with a group of Researchers, service providers in the elderly sector along university professors who specialise in sociology to analyse the projects results and come up with solutions for the existing problems to conclude the project with an extensive report to advise policy makers world wide to rectify the existing ones and recommendations for new ones.
STATEMENT OF IMPACT
As a social artist, I have deepened my own insights into the vulnerable populations of society beginning in my home country of Colombia. Vulnerability is a topic that I have felt extremely passionate about from a young age while going through a humble childhood. I have had the good fortune of immigrating to the United Kingdom.
I have challenged the viewer with a photography project about the socioeconomic factors of childhood in third world countries. I had traveled for 5 years to document the vulnerable youth. The project had culminated with a photography book that is titled Work Play and No Rest and donated to 2 orphanages (Beautiful Gate in Cape town and the Aldea Orphanage in Abancay, Peru). 5 copies of the book are now in the British Library.
The Golden Years art project is a continuation of my prior photographic project of vulnerable youth. I am portraying the other end of the spectrum, namely, the elderly population.
I hope to impact viewers with the vibrancy of my portraits using the medium of paint and convey the need for renewal in society. I believe that my art project can also shift our paradigms and the way that we think about the elderly population. It will honour and celebrate the elderly so that they will have a more visible and dignified standing in our society.