Belen Santamarina\ b. Buenos Aires, Argentina\ lives in London, United Kingdom
Through the use of hair, soil, seeds and food as materials, her works explore the autobiographical and confessional to create tapestries, objects and installations. Reflected in the texts and drawings she embroiders, her works engage with personal and collective migration experiences and the use of memories hybridised with science fiction and the natural world to imagine and propose alternative narratives to the dominant discourse.
Belen Santamarina uses craft techniques inherited from the women in her family, such as embroidery, crocheting and cooking. These techniques have been systematically secluded to the feminine and domestic space. By employing them, she intends to question the relations of power behind fine arts and crafts while rewriting her story and honouring her roots.
She bases her formation on critical study groups and painting workshops. She exhibited her work in Argentina, Taiwan, Spain, the USA and UK. In 2019, she was awarded the Honorary Mention at the Taoyuan International Art Award 2023 in Taiwan. Her work Migran-t has been recently acquired by the Taoyuan Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan (TMoFA).
