Emotions of Fukushima Fish

Through a textural exploration of glitter, spray paint, pigment, sand and oil, Maia Ibar explores the underworld of deep ocean creatures. This mysterious place of darkness where vibrant colors live on skin and scales, like deep water haute couture, is a generative zone for Ibar’s work. The fish and the ocean function as a symbol of freedom and endless space to move, through neon, almost artificial, colors and alien shapes.

There is an element of transcending into another reality in Ibar’s paintings. Humans cohabitate on the planet but don’t have much physical contact with each other, while the ocean is an entirely other dimension, unified through water. 

This series is also political as it explores how humankind projects anthropomorphised anxiety onto the animals and flora that are actually experiencing physical consequences of tragedies such as the Fukushima disaster and it’s radioactive aftermath. Are the fish/flora aware of this? Are they in pain? Do they know that humans caused this? Will they survive? What does “survival of the fittest” mean under such extreme conditions? Will they mutate into a new form, something other than what is known?