Today we’d like to introduce you to Ilsse Peredo.
Hi Ilsse, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Art is a human act, we have the superpower to express our feelings to one another. We are all artists from birth, but as we grow older there will be the people who will see things as things and the people who will see what is there but not easily perceived. Like me. I’m one of those who can find beauty in a rotten apple, inspiration in the moon, and motivation in social injustices.
My journey as an artist started the day I decided to create with the purpose of being vulnerable and humane in front of the world. My main purpose has always been to heal. To heal others and to heal myself in the process. To connect with people, with animals, with plants, with the water, with spiritual beings, with objects, with energies, with colors and textures.
I have had passion for art since I was a child. Baking and recording myself in the process was my first creative pursuit. It was one of the major routines in my childhood. I would watch the only cooking channel there was in my TV, draw and write down words and numbers that helped me remember the recipes and I would record myself bringing them to life with an old Sony camcorder camera my dad had. I would always give my desserts away to my classmates, my teachers, random people in the street, I would bring them to orphanages and nursing homes. My goal was to share something beautiful and delicious made by me with others. My pleasure and satisfaction was seeing their reaction while eating it and connecting with people. I thought about being a chef but never thought about being an artist.
I majored in Advertising Management and minored in Arts. I did digital photography and ceramics my last two years of college. When I graduated, I realized that art was more than a study for me, it has become this universal language I’ve acquired to explore the world around me and myself. I am currently completing my MFA at the Art Institute in Miami.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
My biggest challenge as an artist is self-doubt. It was so hard to believe in myself as an artist because we live in a society that represses our intuition and our emotions. To conquer the challenge, you need to be brave and resilient. I haven’t conquered it yet, but I take it one day at a time. Remember to always speak your truth and never give up even when the whole world is against you.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Everybody hurts, everybody heals, everybody loves, everybody dies. Art is personal and at the same time, universal. My work is about… the human experience, I use my own story (and others’) as a vehicle for others to also express their feelings and emotions and use their voice. It was always hard for me to put my feelings into words, people would never understand what I was trying to say, so I started sharing my emotions and using my voice through photography. I feel my role as an artist is to be an ambassador of the human experience. I like to capture people being vulnerable, people suffering, people living, people crying, freedom and oppression, sanity and madness, humor and despair. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned from capturing moments and people from different countries, lifestyles and beliefs, is that WE ALL SHARE THE SAME 24 HOURS.
I also create as a form of protest. As a woman and an immigrant I carry the responsibility to speak up for the injustices that we face everyday. No one taught me how to use my voice, Art taught me that. When I start using my voice, the people around me start speaking up as well, that’s when I know my job is being done. I want to inspire others to do the same.
Through art, I also share my own (and others’) experiences and challenges to fight taboos and stigmas that have been created through history about feminism, identity, culture, mental health, body image, gender, sexuality and more. I want to normalize open conversations about these topics build a community where we all feel safe to share our story and ask for help.
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Miami is a circus. It’s magical and complicated. It’s a city where I can be myself without judgement because the other people are also being themselves. It’s a community built of creatives supporting each other. Miami inspires me as I continue to make an impact in my community. But the love for Miami doesn’t grow by itself inside of you, you have to grow that love for Miami by exploring every single corner of this city. You have to get lost in it to be able to understand it. But once you do, there’s no going back.
And what I least like is the humidity.
Contact Info:
- Email: ilsseperedo@gmail.com
- Website: www.ilssepe.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/untitled.ip_?utm_medium=copy_link
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/ilsse_p/
Image Credits
For the the portrait of myself credits are for: Johel Pereira The other photos are mine, my work.
