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YIN MY WAY OUT
Claudia Chanhoi
Artsy Online Exclusive
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ARTPOWHER Contemporary launches on International Womxn's Day, a new exhibition series dedicated to womxn illustration artists. Like photography and printmaking, illustration has often been questioned: is it commercial, is it art?

The Art of Illustration… or is it?
Including an artist interview with Claudia Chanhoi, by art historian and curator
Alexandra Steinacker, for ARTPOWHER Contemporary.

It is no secret that the term ‘illustration’ is an enigmatic one, and describing oneself as an illustrator can lead to a variety of interpretations in relation to what kind of work you do, how you do it, and who you do it for. Historically, we have come to recognize illustration as a form of expressing creativity within the commercial sector and it is often associated with advertising. Now, the definition of illustration has evolved, but there are still some who would reject the legitimacy of illustration as an official art form. Within this article, two factors that are intrinsically linked to the art of illustration and how they affect its reception within the arts and cultural sector will be explored, namely the space in which the work is presented and the impact of technology. This article is the first in a series put on by collaborative art project house ARTPOWHER Contemporary which examines female-identifying illustrators working in the arts. In conjunction with this, an interview has been conducted with illustration artist Claudia Chanhoi, aptly commemorating March 8th 2021: International Womxn’s DayContinue reading 

 

INTERVIEW
By art historian and curator Alexandra Steinacker
 

“The decision to title my solo online exhibition “Yin My Way Out“, is a good point to make reference to Yin Yang, the main piece in the exhibition, and the rest of the works reference expressing sexuality from the Yin, a.k.a the female, side of things. Basically, the expression of female sexuality is coming out in the exhibition.“

- Claudia Chanhoi

 


ALEXANDRA STEINACKER: So, this first question is quite broad and you don’t have to go into great detail with it, because we will talk about the other works further in the interview, but if you could summarize it in a few sentences, what is the message you wish to convey in your works in this exhibition?

CLAUDIA CHANHOI: I think I actually have a lot of different topics for this show, I have Love and Desire and I have the Quarantine Series, along with the Body Ownership series as well. I feel like I wanted to talk about a lot of different things, especially when we are doing a virtual show it’s just because of the whole Covid situation. So the Quarantine Series will actually be quite relevant to the current climate! I don’t want to make my work too serious, especially when I talk about sexuality, sexual desires or dating. Normally, it can cause negative reactions from haters, because people can get quite mad when women talk about this kind of stuff. These are still taboo subjects, but I want to make it funny and I want to put a smile on people’s faces. I want to give people a space to think about the issues or the questions I address through my work. I am not here to tell you “We women should be like this or that”, I want it to be light-hearted, funny and easy.

AS: Why do you call yourself an illustration artist, not just an artist or just an illustrator?

CC: To be honest, there is no specific reason, just because I think sometimes I will tell people I am an illustrator and sometimes an artist, I don’t mind what people call me. To me, it is all accurate. I know some people who find the title of “artist” too pretentious, but to me it is okay. 

AS: Yeah, the connotations connected to when you say you are an artist versus an illustrator and what these terms bring with it is sometimes a difficult space to navigate. 

CC: I think that people think of an illustrator as only doing commercial work for clients, or they only do small spot illustrations and things, but I would say illustrators can go into all different fields, like fashion or animation or commercials, as well. And some illustrators do a lot of self-initiated projects, like me, and to me that sounds more like an artist which is why I call myself an illustration artist. Continue reading

March 2021

For inquiries please contact:
Anna Maurrasse-Tomaiuolo, Founder & CEO
ARTPOWHER Contemporary
info@artpowher.com

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Claudia Chanhoi

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