One thing I didn’t recognize in me as being Venezuelan, even after more than 18 years of being away from my home country, is humor. I didn’t recognize it until shortly. After seeing all these years of artwork as well as the posts and texts in my website, I discovered humor is one of the binding forces in my life.

Humor is so Venezuelan. We laugh about ourselves, about life, bad luck… pretty much about everything.

“Al mal tiempo buena cara” (put a good face in bad times) is something you learn as a child and “Reír para no llorar” (laugh so you don’t cry) sounds a bit like “fake it ‘till you make it”. I guess it’s our way of being optimistic or bringing about happiness out of thin air. We just smile.

I tried and tried to add seriousness to my style, to the way I do things, I even wrote my statement in the third person like many artists do, but that just isn’t me. Besides, all of my drawings start with a guessing game, there’s a playfulness to every piece I make.

Authenticity is important for me. And I am so Venezuelan, I’ll just go on laughing at myself, my work and my world.

*If you’re interested in purchasing a piece from the 100 Urban Faces series, please contact me at art@atamayka.com