Dramatic eyes look to the viewer with an intoxicating stare; the photographic portraits in “Moody, Moody” light up the stark white walls in electric technicolor. University of Oregon senior advertising student Isa Ramos’ debut solo photography exhibit is on display in the Aperture Gallery of the Erb Memorial Union. The seven portraits depict an array of feelings and emotions in a creative and artistic way.
Ramos participated in their first-ever exhibition, a group exhibit at the LaVerne Krause Gallery earlier this year, but this show focuses entirely on their personal style. Many of the pieces are self-portraits showing Ramos in an incredibly up close and intimate way. Possibly the most interesting detail of this exhibit is the fact that these photos originate from different projects but have come together to create an incredibly cohesive exhibit with fluid colors and ideologies.
“A lot of my work kind of stems from how I perceive myself as a person, and how I would like to be perceived. So a lot of it is just kind of like self portraiture,” Ramos said. “I ultimately enjoy examining and exploring myself and representations of myself.”
The first image shows Ramos in a self-portrait that is wildly colored shades of purple, red and yellow and features a geometric line cutting through the image creating a separation effect. Through the use of long exposure techniques, the image appears to be two images fused together but is actually one image showing Ramos twice. The first image and the last image within the exhibit are from the same project; they capture and isolate an up-close image of Ramos’ face, highlighting small details of their expressions.
“I feel like as far as art and color, the exhibit really explores a full range and identity; I think it gets us thinking about identity and person,” Suzanne Hanlon, advisor of the UO Visual Arts Committee, said. “They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and there’s a lot of eyes in this exhibit, so you can kind of think about who you’re seeing and what they’re thinking, what you’re thinking as you see the art.”
In the very center of the exhibit is a tall breathtaking image of Ramos’ partner in beautiful colors and detail. The subject gazes outward with flowers falling across their face as shadows and bright hues of electric blue, pink and pale yellow add a dramatic intensity to the image.
“There’s a certain intimacy about it. A lot of them are self portraits obviously but it has this sort of closeness and texture to it that it feels intimate and personal in a really cool way,” Lily James, the social media coordinator for the UO Visual Arts Committee, said. “All those bright colors look so good in that space. Your eye is drawn right to it, and it really brightens up that whole wall.”
Another image is cast in dramatic red shades meant to have a sort of horror film effect. Ramos stands with imposing power looking downward angrily as the red lighting illuminates their face with an eerie glow. The inspiration behind the image comes from a discussion in UO School of Journalism and Communication professor Dayna Chatman’s class, which covered the concept of queer villains in the media. Ramos, who is queer, hoped to illuminate this messaging through a dramatic self portrait.
Each photograph in ‘Moody, Moody’ takes the viewer along a rollercoaster of emotions through the use of powerful imagery and themes. The feelings conveyed throughout the exhibit are shockingly personal and enliven Ramos’ unique artistic style along with their identity.
Ramos wanted to explore themes surrounding mental illness and representation, they said, “because of my background being a queer, Mexican American with a disability — with a mood disorder. That’s something really personal to me, that’s very important to me, not necessarily just representations of myself but representations of other people of marginalized backgrounds, marginalized communities and underrepresented communities.”
The exhibit is viewable in person with a UO ID through March 20. Images will be on display online through photos of the exhibit, along with an upcoming artist talk video that will be uploaded to the UO Visual Arts teams Facebook and Instagram and on Ramos’ online portfolio.
Editor’s note: This story was updated on March 8 to reflect that Isa Ramos is majoring in advertising at UO, rather than art.
