Helen Adilia Arceyut Frixione
- Mathilde Herbinier
- May 7
- 1 min read
As a Latinx visual artist, my sculptures explore cultural identity, transience, and the interplay between past and present. Rooted in childhood experiences in revolutionary Nicaragua, my practice examines the complexities of identity and patria for displaced communities. I merge everyday influences with imagined elements to create a holistic sense of self, expressed in textured and colourful forms blending realist and mythical aesthetics.
Nostalgia informs my work, fueled by formative memories and cultural histories. Clay is my primary medium, through coiling, slab building, and throwing techniques I produce a range of sculptures, from small zoomorphic figures to large-scale vessels. These methods have reconnected me to ancestral traditions while encouraging innovation in form and meaning.
Influenced by Mesoamerican and Pre-Columbian forms that filled my home, my larger pieces transcend specific timelines. By blending colors and textures, I create hybrid forms, embodying adaptation, tradition, and narrative. Through this process, I challenge populist representations and celebrate shared cultural memories through reclamation and reinvention. Through the Canada Arts Council Research and Create Grant, the archival research I conducted broadened my material interests. I’ve begun incorporating fibers sculpturally, and experimenting with audiovisual and sensory elements, as well as decorative and low-firing techniques. This expansion has deepened my engagement with memory, examining how what we recall and how we recall can shape our understanding of who we are and where we come from.
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