BIANCA BIJI

Artists come in all shapes and sizes, from all geographical areas, from millions of unique and singular perspectives. They have nothing in common and they have everything in common. They travel the lonely narrow road of unique experience, as well as walking the broader road of shared experience. 

Bianca Biji is a contemporary artist that works with freedom and spontaneity as her watchwords. She is a free spirit as far as creativity is concerned. She makes it work for her, and she makes it as part of the journey. However, that also means that she isn't in control of outcomes and end results, but she is fine with that.

Juxtapositioning is a large part of her work. Juxtaposition by its very nature can be thought out, planned, but it is also so often bold and free spirited, and with this artist, juxtapositioning definitely means the latter. Her juxtapositioned work is drama, a slamming together of paintings, paintings that have no immediate correlation or connection, but by crashing together two separate and diverse compositions, Bianca is able to force a new and dynamic composition from two ends of another former space.

In many ways her juxtapositioning is a metaphor of human life. We are constantly slamming and crashing into each other both physically and emotionally. Sometimes these crashes prove to be major disasters, sometimes minor ones, but often they can prove to be great positive catalysts for change, for connection, for bonding. We always prove to be more when we are connected to others, so much lesser when we feel we are an ego unto ourselves. 

Bianca is an artist that doesn't overthink. She is brutally honest with herself and with others, much more honest that many of her contemporaries in the art world. She doesn't pretend to know what art is or isn't, where it comes from, or where it is going...even what it is, it just is. That it is a part of her emotionally and physically, in the end that's all that really matters.

The most important element of creativity is self-expression, and this is central to the work of Bianca. Her imagery, her work titles, her perspective, her colours, line, shades - all scream self-expression. This is an artist that uses art as a self-diary, as a lifetime autobiography, a life in seven parts, and whilst many artists do the same, few are as focused on the brutal and sometimes painful revelation of honesty as Bianca.

Not everything goes well in the life of an artist. In fact, many artists have more downs than ups. Bianca is one of those artists who is more willing than many to reveal the bad as well as the good. She is willing to to be open, through her work, towards naked examination. 

If the life of an artist is about exploring self-expression, and projecting that self-expression through work, is there any real reason for it other than some form of self-therapy? To some artists it doesn't go any further than that, but to others there is a deeper involvement in connection, connection with others. 

The work of Bianca for example, tells us that although her experience of life is unique, it is also experience that can be shared. We are all human, and we all therefore have an equal experience of the human condition. We can all laugh and cry with others because we all understand that shared moments are connective moments.

We have connection and we have a joined experience through that connection. No one is immune to good and bad times, and to openly share those good and bad times is both wildly honest, and enormously caring. Artists are very often seen as selfish self-involved individuals, oblivious to the world and lives of others. I would personally argue the opposite. By putting themselves on the line emotionally is to multi-involved, to be forever keyed into the world and lives of others. To share their honesty of self with others is to both understand connection, as well as to understand compassion.

The great human dichotomy is to understand that you are forever alone in this life, and at the same time you are forever connected to all others. That dichotomy is not lost on the creative artist, and is certainly not lost on the artist Bianca Biji.

All work shown in this feature were sanctioned by the artist. Please ask permission from the artist before sharing any of the work shown here. Thank you.