By Zaira Ramirez Luis
Summer 2021
Acrylic Painting
20″x20″
$170

Artist Statement:
Zaira Ramirez Luis was honored to be selected as the 2021 Go Play Outside Artist in Residence, a partnership of the City of Abbotsford and the Abbotsford Arts Council. Through this program, Ramirez Luis’ primary goal was to learn about BC birds and their interactions with residents of Abbotsford. Thanks to those warm conversations, she developed a series of paintings and assemblages titled Devotion to Nature. The exhibition Devotion to Nature explores concerns about the city, nostalgic feelings, and current events that happened before and after the Artist in Residence program.

“In those conversations, I found most people expressed concerns of how new constructions and agriculture exploitation are reducing green space areas and nature”

Devotion to Nature contains a series of paintings depicting concerns exposed by Abbotsfordians. Ramirez Luis, in response to those concerns, created a series of assemblages representing nature’s generosity and what it offers us. The intention of her artwork is to encourage the viewer to protect natural resources, recognize that Abbotsford needs to adopt sustainable agriculture practices, and value and conserve green spaces (gardens) that beautify the city.

Artist Bio:
Zaira Ramirez Luis (1987) is a Venezuelan multidisciplinary artist. Her first inspiration was her Canary artisan grandfather who worked with an important group of Venezuelan sculptors. Ramirez Luis is formally trained in film photography from the Nelson Garrido Organization, attained her Graphic Arts Diploma from the Cristobal Rojas School of Visual Arts and is in the final year of completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV). The UFV Visual Arts Collection acquired Ramirez Luis’ work, Letter to Venezuela in 2019, she is the recipient of the City of Abbotsford’s 2021 Artist in Residency and has exhibited throughout Abbotsford and Venezuela.

In her photography work, she explores nostalgic feelings found in her environment, an interest that was cultivated during her teenage years. Through this process, she was able to explore her Canary islander and Venezuelan family traditions with her series of photograms named Familia. While attending UFV, Ramirez Luis delved even more into her dark room print processes, using techniques such as Cyanotype and Van Dyke print. In this process, she developed her diaspora, Mode of Life. This body of work juxtaposed her physical body in relation to the new Canadian landscape as she navigated her relationship between the land and nature, allowing her to narrate her feelings as an immigrant while using fish as a symbol of the diaspora.
Ramirez Luis has called Abbotsford, B.C. home since 2014, and during that time has continued her interest in narrative works and the duality of spaces. Through this lens, she has created compositions of Canadian places. Recently, one of her works, called Chilli-Onto, explores the fragmentation of Canadian spaces between urban and agricultural landscapes.

Ramirez Luis would like to thank Grace Tsurumaru and Alex Duff, for their kindness and mentorship.

The Go Play Outside Artist in Residence Selection Committee was unanimous in selecting Ms. Ramirez Luis as their 2021 artist. Her desire to connect with Abbotsford residents and learn from their lived experiences while exploring her relationship to the City, was a perfect fit for the Go Play Outside program. Ms. Ramirez Luis actively engaged with residents as they were drawn to her warm and inviting presence throughout the summer at the program pop up events. Her interest in the community, her ability to connect with people, and her open willingness to discuss arts and culture with all ages and demographics of attendees was an immeasurable asset to her residency.

Follow Zaira Online:
Instagram: @zairawet