Aurora Van Zoelen

La Sombra del Colibrí

2019

This is a charcoal drawing of the shadow of a small hummingbird alebrije (a brightly colored Mexican folk art sculpture of fantastical creatures) that hangs from my ceiling. Every night and every morning, I see the play of shadows it casts against the wall. I am mesmerized by the tones, the softness of the gradients, and the shapes that are created by overlapping shadows. My paintings tend to be very colorful, but lately I see the splendor in shadows too, like the beautiful game between light and dark that the leaves of a tree cast on a floor. I believe that language is sometimes inadequate to fully communicate with other people. My drawing is a visual representation of feelings and thoughts that I cannot find the words for.