Victoria Elena Ferreyra: “With a paintbrush in your hand you can change the world.”
WHOEVER WANTS TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT ME AS AN ARTIST WHICH ALONE IS SIGNIFICANT THEY SHOULD LOOK ATTENTIVELY AT MY PICTURES AND THERE SEEK TO RECOGNISE WHAT I AM AND WHAT I WANT. – GUSTAV KLIMT
María Cabeza continues her series which introduces us to remarkable human beings. I know that I am in the presence of someone special, so I focus on an unusual fact before I begin this interview: Some butterflies sip the tears of the tortoises to feed themselves. And so it is with Victoria Elena Ferreyra too. The difference is that she drinks the tears of the suffering, digests these tears and transforms them into pieces of art which nourish souls. Miss Ferreyra seems to transfigure – to mutate before my eyes. She begins to radiate and transmitting life and colour. She becomes a BUTTERFLY.
María Cabeza: Hello Victoria, Let me start by asking what you do for a living?
Victoria Elena Ferreyra: I am a pianist, muralist and a painter. I am also an expert on resilience and social responsibility. I founded and manage an NGO called Pinta Argentina.
MC: What exactly is Pinta Argentina? How did it start?
VEF: Pinta Argentina started in 2012 as a personal project and in 2014 it became an NGO. It is a sociocultural initiative stands for the inclusion and the validation of humankind. It highlights our individual and collective abilities [by accepting our differences] through the collective and, perhaps, universal language of painting.
Since I was a girl, I experienced how other people ill-treated disabled individuals – my youngest sister suffers from Down Syndrome – and that discrimination led me to begin a project to stop this [discrimination] through art. With a paintbrush in your hand you can change the world.
MC: What is the aim of your project?
VEF: The aim is to create an appreciation for [all] humankind, to accept the differences and to enrich ourselves [with and] from them. I will also include sowing the seeds of sharing solidarity, empathy, and equality.
MC: You have been worldwide with Pinta Argentina. What countries have you visited and how did it go?
VEF: We visited 30 countries and I have even met Pope Francis in Rome. Travelling along these paths earned us many accolades; many awards, such as the José Martí Award [in Cuba], the Guerrero Prize for the Arts [Colombia], the Evento Pascual Award [Norway], a prize from the Embassy of Denmark, the Urban Art NYC Award [USA], Fundación Par [Spain], Urban Arts [Award] in Paris [France] and, from United Nations, the Prize for Peace and Commonweal.
MC: Why do you think this dream came true?
VEF: I highlight that actions that come from good intentions. I find that that, together with honest work, are always compensated. I am a labourer – together with my team – and our main goal is common benefit. I am very grateful to have the chance of “giving” by means of “creating” things. You could say it is a kind of motto: “BE | DO | GIVE THANKS.
[…She repeats these words constantly. This artist has already pierced my heart.]
MC: Have you done anything during this time of Pandemic or is the artistic sensitivity come to a halt during this time of being in a closed space?
VEF: No… not ever! I am constantly creating… I create 24/7/365! I made a series of 18 paintings that support me emotionally in these troubled times. They free me from confinement. I am going to put them for sale – they are butterflies and I painted one for each day of quarantine. If I get some money I will use it to continue with my project and other [projects] to come.
MC: What did you “hear” or “see” when you opened wide your heart?
VEF: I suffer from ADHD [Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder] and I take advantage of it. I saw the positive side of it, by creating… and making things; by giving to others. I feel useful and this helps me carry my own baggage. I am at peace with myself.
MC: What do you do when you come across something bad?
VEF: When I chose this career I said to myself that I will never play the stupid one if I saw something or someone who needed my help and I fulfilled what I said: “I never look to another side when there is something in front of me that needs my help”.
MC: You are a pianist too, I understand. Do you play somewhere?
VEF: Music has been in me since I was born. I remember people asking me “What would you like to be when you grow up?” and I replied “A musician”. I don t play in public; the piano is my soul, my hiding place. It preserves me from the evil of the world. I still need to play just for myself. At present I connect the vibrations of the colours of musical notes and I am aware that it is this [aspect of my art] which makes the difference [in my art]. If the soul of the viewer connects with the simplicity of my art he will listen to my music as well… [She continues]…and I just don’t want to stop him. I let him fly! Music is a deep part of my childhood… my brothers, my Dad and Mom; the piano is my Macondo … remember the book by Gabriel García Márquez? That same magic is in me too.
MC: You are a muralist too. Tell me about it!
VEF: I became a muralist by accident. I had no more money for my art. But I didn’t give up… I was resilient and so I started painting. I give workshops in many provinces in Argentina. For instance, in Santiago del Estero, one day, while teaching, a boy approached me and said to me ““Teacher, why don’t you draw a butterfly?” I leaned toward the wall, opened my arms, a brush in each hand. Those were the first wings I painted/… My first wings.
MC: What did you find in “muralism”?
VEF: A visual impact that connects with the observer’s gaze. Muralism must always be for “the other” and also “made with another” – the viewer/observer.
MC: Who can be called an artist?
VEF: I think only time can say that. In my case I am a labourer and a painter.
MC: Are all human beings resilient? What is it exactly?
VEF: Resilience is the ability to transform adversity into something positive; weakness into strength. You become resilient as you experience grief in your life. In that way you become stronger and develop empathy, creativeness and – most important – you come in contact with your spiritual being.
MC: What place does love have in your life?
VEF: Love is everything… Love is all. Love is the engine… Of that, I have no doubt whatsoever.
MC: Why did you pick butterflies?
VEF: Butterflies symbolize the fragility of life and of its beauty too. They are seen wherever there is life. They are in constant transformation. I found the souls of those who are no longer with us, butterflies.
MC: So… what then is life? And what is death?
VEF: Life: a great opportunity. Death: is just a fact.
MC: Are we solitary creatures?
VEF: To be solidary is a choice. It is a feeling that comes from deep inside people’s souls. It is a daily job. Regarding empathy [or the absence of it] I think that is because we lack memory. If we could recall the bad things [that have happened in this world]… the bad things we do, I’m sure that evil [such] actions wouldn’t be performed ever again.
MC: What makes you happy… or sad?
VEF: For me, life is happiness. If my family is healthy, it makes me happy. Also… love, colours, music and “good” people. All this is happiness to me. Any stupid human act makes me feel sad.
MC: Is there anything you would like to add?
VEF: “Yes… [For now] I have five wishes… I wish that ALL Humanity feels worthy of life… I wish that people would be grateful for the gift of life and be generous and believe in [feel a sense of] solidarity [with others] before they pass away… I wish I could be a mother some day; I am trying to adopt a baby so I also pray for simpler and more equal laws for everybody… I wish to gather with my family and friends to share a meal… Lastly, I want to fill the world with butterflies… [her voice trails off]…
My interview with her is over. I feel transformed. I get the sudden urge to hold Victoria Elena Ferreyra, so I do… I hold her close, wishing a secret wish… A tear, like a crystal butterfly, celebrates our new-found love for each other and we are both moistened by our emotions.
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