Alanna Hernandez (b. 1988) grew up on Cape Cod, and graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2010, where she earned a B.A. in Middle East Studies. During this time she gained some formal art training, as well as education in history, religion, and language. Her work combines her formal education in the arts and humanities, exploration of spirituality, and self-taught art skills. She has lived in Midcoast Maine since 2018. She has shown work in London and New York, has been featured in publications including the New York Times and L'Officiel Mexico, and was recently awarded a project grant from the Maine Arts Commission.
About
In recent years my work has been about observation and expression of the self. I observe my thoughts and feelings in response to trauma, relationships, and spirituality; and try to make that internal experience visible. It’s interesting to me how we create a sense of self through our feelings and sensations, through the stories we tell about what happened in our past, and how we relate to others–which includes people, the universe, and the metaphysical.
The ribbon shapes that I use can express so much movement and tension, and the flow of their lines feel narrative to me. Sometimes I work from a feeling and put it into form, other times I play with the form by creating multiple sketches of an idea until it evokes a feeling. The ribbons also resemble the body in an abstract way, and I use color to further that association. I like to use flesh tones, but also deep blues and black which recall depth, mystery, and the unconscious.
I use mostly drawing materials–colored pencil, wax pastel, and some acrylic paint– because the marks that they make feel most true to me. I have spent a lot of time with these materials and learned a lot about the atmosphere and movement they can create through layering, and direction of the marks.