"I Want to Be Like Water" Camila Ullauri

Artist: Camila Ullauri

Name: “I Want to be like Water”

Year: 2024

Medium: Oil and Airbrush on Canvas

Size: 30 x 40

Frame: N/A

About the piece: 

After not painting for a few months, this was the first piece I made after coming back from a trip where I spent the majority of my time near the beach and water. I have never enjoyed going in water for too long. 

I have no control over my body and I can’t see what's beneath it. In 2023, when I painted this I surrendered, and let myself float and stop caring about the ifs. It was a healing period, and after coming back I became more fluid with my work and began using watercolors and airbrushes. This piece is a depiction of surrendering and floating and making light of the abyss and new experiences. No longer restricting. The water that I am submerged in almost resembles a placenta. Indicating rebirth and the mark of a new chapter in my life and work. This piece is a reminder that overcoming any fear is greater than staying safe and hiding. On the other side of fear there is a greater, more evolved version of ourselves, and to celebrate those fears rather than hide from them.