Mexican artist presents paintings with augmented reality

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – Mexican artist Kathrina Rupit presented some of her paintings with augmented reality to help the viewer go deeper into the artist’s inner world.

Rupit, a mixed-media artist, told Anadolu Agency that she used a mix of old philosophy and new technology in her piece called “Heart Coherence.”
“I wanted to bridge our past with our future while envisioning the process of the ego, and its dissolution, here I have represented the ego as a mask,” Rupit said.

You can see the woman finally takes off the mask and gets rid of her ego through a mobile application “Artivive,” she stressed.

​​​​​​​A viewer should put a smartphone or a tablet close to the painting and music was added to the visual effects in the app.

“It blends the topic of identity and the relationship of the ego with fulfillment and coherence around the body. This is also an important meditation that has been proven by science to help the human body heal any illness and also help to cultivate inner peace,” she added.

Born in Mexico and currently living in Dublin, she said she includes “traditional philosophies like shamanism” from the Toltecs culture, “which were people of great knowledge from ancient Mexico.”

“In my art, you will find different cosmologies that in essence explain our existence in this world and a way of life in harmony with the circumstances around us,” she added.

- Bringing art to streets

Serving as a bridge between the street and digital art, she brought color to the Turkish capital Ankara with her mural.

She said she has been painting walls for more than ten years.
“You can find my work in countries like the US, Ireland, the UK, Spain, India, Portugal, France, Mexico,” she said.

For her “Blossom” mural on Guvenlik Street in the Cankaya district, she said it took her three or four days to finish it.

The mural, 15x20m in size, shows an image of a woman infused with color and traditional Mexican patterns and clothing.

“The initiative of the mural came from Atilla Gullu and the Mexican Embassy, who approached the municipality of Cankaya with the project,” she said.

Underlining that the reaction has been amazingly positive to the mural, she hoped this project could open doors for the municipalities to engage in more large-scale murals.

The opening ceremony of the wall was held on Monday with the participation of the Ambassador of Mexico in Turkey, Jose Luis Martinez y Hernandez, and the Deputy Mayor of the Cankaya Municipality, Gulsun Bor Guner.

Staying in Turkey for two weeks, she also participated in the ArtAnkara International Contemporary fair, where she shared her work with Turkish art lovers.

“Due to the [coronavirus] curfew in the weekends, I wasn’t able to explore much the city, but from what I saw there were many kind and creative people, amazing food and very beautiful patterns on fabrics so similar to Mexican patterns,” she stressed.

As a contemporary artist, she has exhibited her artwork internationally in collaboration with galleries and art centers in Mexico, Europe and the US, along with international organizations such as Greenpeace, United Nations, Amnesty International, Street Art for Mankind, among others.

Her works are currently being showcased at the Exhibition Hall in the Portakal Cicegi Residence building, where the Embassy of Mexico is located. The exhibition will be open to the public until May 18.