Ines Coelho

My work focuses on the concept of space awareness. I am interested on the relationships between space, object and viewer. I use photography, sculpture, silkscreen, painting and installation to explore these relations. The work incorporates different perspectives about space and presents them to the viewer.

Being a dancer for many years has influenced my artwork. It brought to the “canvas” relevant questions on stage, such as: where am I? How can I move across this space? How can I use it? For me, space awareness is the way I perceive my surrounding space and the way I relate to it. My work constantly focuses on this idea. Moreover, I want the audience to perceive space in an unusual way, to think about it and to reflect on their relation with their surroundings. I also want the viewer to participate in the work actively by making them think. In this perspective, my work is deeply influenced by Minimalism, by its theatrical approach to the relation between the viewer and the artwork. The meaning of the work is completed upon its connection with the viewer. They are both tied together.

Once I heard: to understand the mind through the body. Awareness is the moment when the mind and the body are just one; for instance, to look forwards and feel the wall in our back. Space awareness is the link between space and human as an entire being. In my art practice, I take this theme further as to understand the mind through space awareness.