VALERIE ROSE VALERA

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Pronouns: They/Them

Born in White Plains, NY

Lives & works in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

      An artist of many forms, I work in various mediums that transcend from physical to digital. I have always approached art as a form of therapy for processing my experiences. The work is consequential, with catharsis being the driving force. 

      My mixed media work begins with fragmented collage elements that build with small reliefs of illustration and paint. Carefully balancing the elements to not be quickly recognizable I strive to develop an unconscious impression on the viewer that isn't simply associated with common social/ visual language. It’s about how much I can put into a piece, often resulting in an overstimulating visual experience. 

      Contrasting my mixed media work my photography's main focus is to capture the essence of the individual in front of my lens to their truest form. I aim to capture genuineness and honesty. My roots in photography came from a documentary approach, having a lack of documentation in my youth to capturing life that I felt was beautiful and fleeting as a young queer teenager. My passion for capturing these precious moments turned into a journey of discovering how I could unlock someone and capture them with purity. I desired a photograph to be real whether it was good, bad, or anything in between. To capture life in a raw and unfiltered approach.