Meet Vanessa Paulina
03/11/2022
Since Vanessa Paulina grew up on the ABC islands, namely Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao, she represents all three of them on her international journeys. This also explains why her African and Indian heritage is often reflected in her work. Profession: Visual artist/Illustrator/ Fashion designer. As a painter she works mostly on canvas and murals, and as a illustrator mostly children’s books. She also gives workshops in drawing, painting, fashion design, and soul ‘intuitive’ art. Job or career highlights; Illustrating various children’s books for different writers known internationally. Teaching/ exhibiting. Having 3 books written and illustrated for school children of various age groups in Suriname. A permanent Solo Exhibition at Curacao’s first Tambu (African drum) Museum.
Vanessa Paulina has different art series one of them named ‘The Goddesses’, inspired by the power of the feminine energy she says she is helping to bring back to our planet. Another project of hers is called ‘House of Virginia’, named after Aruba’s most rebellious slave ‘Virginia Dementricia’. Vanessa is the first one that gave this dame a face. And with this project she helps to empower battered women through different forms of Art therapy. Virginia is now recognized as a ‘hero’ and has become international; Virginia has been published in several history and art books and is the first ‘Black’ lady to have a spot in the digital museum. She also has two streets in Holland named after her. This special lady was known to be untamable; she stole food and clothing from her owners sharing this with other slaves, she was said to have been rude to her owners and the police, of lashing back at them and escaping. No matter how many times she was beaten or arrested, as soon as she was released she did the same things. This was Virginia’s way of rebelling and having a sense of freedom. Vanessa Paulina is very interested in her language ‘Papiamento’ spoken on the ABC Islands and since she visited the Cape Verdian Islands she is just like late Prof./ writer Frank Martinus Arion from Curacao (who was the first to do a study on this matter), convinced that Papiamento is derived from these Islands she even did a project on this. To make contact and renew the ties with the other ‘siblings’, in this case the ABC Islands and Cape Vert Islands, she donated a painting with the title of ‘Indigo kids’ to then Minister of Culture Manuel Veiga in ‘Santiago de Praia’ the largest and main Island of Cape Vert, here Papiamento sounds nearly exactly the same as the language spoken on the Island which is named Creole.
Vanessa Paulina studied fashion and illustration at the Academy van Beeldende Kunsten now Willem de Kooning Art Academy in Rotterdam. Prior to that she studied at the Mode Academie in Eindhoven. To support her artistic endeavors, she took classes in Caribbean History at Leiden University. Did a business course at Atlas in Rotterdam and took various courses at Kunstenaars en Co.
Contact: [email protected]/[email protected]/www.vanessapaulina.com
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