By Constanza Navarrete

Patricia’s academic upbringing was in design. Years later, she sudied for a degree in art, and since then she has developed a project of water paintings. The interest emerges from the multiples possibilities the said element gives her, for it’s simplicity doesn’t show the technical and simbolic complexity it possesses. Water is one of yhe four elements and is a universal material that exists everywhere in the world. She represents dying waters, since fresh water is the scarcest resource on the planet. It is also a landscape, part of nature and an infinitive source of imagery thanks to its mirrored quality; a metaphor for change and eternal cycle.

The artist is inspired by different techniques. Among those, we find photography, video, installation and painting, with the later being te most relevant. All are linked to the same problema: the representation of fresh water; an element that in itself can be everything and nothing. It i sable to be transparent as well as infinitely reflect images, always differently, since water from a river constantly flows while it is witness to the diverse happenings of the environment: day, evening, night, spring, summer, fall, winter, etcetera. It goes from invisible to visible depending on the light as long as it reflects; the shadow shows depth. These are the two planes that converge on the surface. Even so, such images are not long-lasting; they change from one moment to the next, thus it is necessary to record them through photography. “From everything it provides, I can only capture a small part. I show that small detail as the whole in my work,” comments the artist.

She personally uses the river –generally, Río Bueno in the south of Chile- to enter it and contemplate it for hours, until getting the desired images. A wait in front of the water which is then photographed and edited before being put into the canvas. For Patricia, it is important to preserve the essence of the water while always seeking to emphasize its qualities through paint. Light-shadow, brightness-opacity, shalowness-depth, figure-background, are the dualities that make up her pieces. Layers and layers are overlapped until forming the finished piece. In that aspect, her creative process involves accumulation and constant change, whose development is hidden over and over again by the oil paint. Regarding this, she explaines: “I have a dual process. First the background (shadow) and later the reflection (light). Only I know that first step. It stays hidden under the reflection of the light. That technique allows me to establish a tight dialogue with the piece, which gives me time to ‘listen and observe’ what it tells me to follow. It’s a moment of respect for the piece, as well as a moment of respect for nature.”
The relationship that she establishes with her work is extremely sensitive. She carries out each part of the process; from the photography in situ to the painting. There is a certain gaze when facing the wáter, its behavior and representation, which is vital to do in person. She creates that close-knit link with her work –which isn’t always present in contemporary art-, that gives it a romantic connotation, but that also involves a meditative process that starts at the river and continues in her workshop.

In turn, Patricia’s work is linked to Taoism and Buddhism. The patient attitude of waiting and contemplating which involves observing the riverbed, photographing it, taking it to the workshop and ensuring that it keeps its identity, are characteristics that are typical of Chinese art, which seeks to expand the essence of the landscape to the paint. It requires to empty the Self in order to be able to blend with the object and revive its primordial characteristics: “listening to it” just as stated. On the other hand, objectifies the concept of Taoism very well. In the 14th epigram of Tao Te Ching by Laozi (translated by James Legge), it says: “We look at it, and we do not see it. We name it ‘the Inaudible.’ We try to grasp it, and do not get hold of it. We name it `the Subtle’ (…). Its upper part is not bright. Its lower part is noy obscure. Ceaseless in its action, it yet cannot be named. It again returns and becomes nothing. This is called the Form of the Formless. The Semblance of the Invisible. The fleeting and indeterminable. We meet it and do not see its Front. We follow it and do not see its back…” These verses allow us to appreciate how the Tao finds a poetic correlation in the figure of the water, which is also shape without form, image without objective; neither dark nor bright.

Under the same influence of the oriental aesthetic, the artist establishes analogies between the forms of water with the Chinese calligrams; “it is as if the water were communicating something, or simply writing the story of my relationship with nature,” she says. Patricia Claro’s work is very beautiful in its subtlety and accounts for that empathetic attitude with nature, water and its rhythm: an issue that our eastern ancestors were able to study and express.