An Interview with VXN by Colborn

Space distorts as human beings try to find a place to inhabit. The perception of geometry that surrounds it, is constantly building or deconstructing a different reality, where we are all trying to create our sense of place. Graphics, nature-inspired textures and futuristic worlds feature the work of Victoria Campobello; alias VXN. Abstract shapes of amorphous forms coexist in highly textured images that seem to blend into a three dimensional space.

1. If you could be any animal which would you be? A sexy snake

2. Sweet foods or salty foods? Sweet forever

3. Old things or new things? Old & melancholic love

4. If you could live in any time period in history when would you choose?  Again melancholic 70s, when my parents were kids.

5. What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries, cherries & an angel kiss in spring

6. What is your first memory? My head is a little bit pissed off, not even remembering what I did yesterday.

7. Would you rather live in outer space or under water? Underwater definitely.

8. What’s the one thing you cannot live without? My computer

9. Do you like to follow rules or break rules? Out of the system

10. Who is another cryptoartist you really admire? Frenetikvoid & ONEFALLART. Robbie Barrat, have been following him since I entered cryptoart and I love what de does. 

I started doing art when I was little, at school.  Used to draw in pencil and acrylics.  Chose art as my main course in high school. But nowadays, I really never grab a piece of paper.  It seems so far off from what I do.  I was born with a computer, so it isn’t a big surprise that I would spend all day long using it for creating.  Remember fighting with my sister just to have it a little bit more time so I could do some silly drawings on paint. 

Then I started my degree in Graphic Design here in Argentina and doing some dramatic pieces of scratches and brushes out of primitive methods. That’s what university gave me, the passion for having my own style.

I think my pieces really communicate that, it’s me in my own world with my eccentric touch.  But to go deeper in this, my art communicates everything I can’t or couldn’t put in to words in real life. I mean Jinshu, Petroleum II or Rotten Body, or maybe Wasp Venom as well, are these vomits.  In any case, each one drives me to different places or emotions I was handling in that moment. Like in Rotten Body, chrome and transparent light blue colors, with reflections standing in the middle of some infinite space, seem to transmit a kind of peace, but when you go deeper, and deeper also in my current mood, you see these tangled cables wrapped around each other with all my anxiety and shitty thoughts exposed.

Well this piece was initially made in photoshop. The crazy thing is that the first sketch came up in the first two hours and it was totally expressive. Didn’t know what I was doing, just brought up some photographs of mercury droplets and started playing with the forms. Then the mercury resulted in the big symmetric structure. I added in water drops and created the environment.  When I finished it, it all made sense; a complete flow in the workout of the piece, authentic and with no break or time given to “rational” thoughts in the process. The crazy thing about this non-mental workout was that I had a tarot reading that day and I had asked the tarotist about why I was feeling emptiness in all my relationships, family etc, and she told me that the first two cards where related to emotional feelings, what is meant to be water in astrology. And the other two cards talked about being satisfied with this fluidity of water, and feelings in harmony. The last one was the Star, depicted a woman touching the sky with her hands, and talked about a complete devotion to life, elevating to the sky but still in harmony and flowing with the earth. Many people made a sexual link in this piece, I’ve been told it looks like a vagina or a clitoris.

Then Franco, Frenetik, big friend of mine, put the idea in my head of turning it 3d, cause it already had this dimensional power over the first sketch and it would really make sense creating its real (or non-real) environment. I knew nothing about modeling at that time.  But actually I’m teaching myself 3d now, and he collaborates with me in making it possible.

It just made sense, I don’t know. There are types of works that you fool around million of ideas and you never know when to close it because you aren’t sure of nothing.  But then, there are these pieces, authentic, that flow and you known when they are ready. 

WATER THERAPY.  It’s all about this. Connection with your own fluids and letting go. And it inquires about sexuality, emotional fluidity and ascendance to a higher self.

Many pieces are about this, I mean, we are essentially made up of water. Water is pure, cleans, and makes us fresh. That’s the connection I have with water, and I’m quite obsessed with the transparency and refractions translucid liquids can generate. I used to work out with bubbles. All this form concentrated in micro-environments fascinates me.

I usually turn these kinds of pieces into abstract worlds. That’s what I enjoy best, working with morphological pieces. Creating forms. And there are two clear paths in my work, either vibrating saturated colors: red, blue, orange (my favorites) or dramatic monochromatic pieces.

I usually develop over time and gradually.  I like to keep some pieces for myself.  I’m just now getting used to sharing my work on social media. 

From everywhere… People, conversations, dramatic events of my life. I also go through lots of artists and visual references.  I’m now obsessed with Jonathan Castro, a Peruvian Designer based in Amsterdam, who features color combinations to dig into himself and his pre-hispanic culture.  Jean Arp and his sculptures; all those non-shaped bodies that stand elegant over the observer.

We are an amazing community of artists full of data and incredible things to share.  We also tend to come together and support each others.  It’s in our nature.  Since things are rather complicated here, our economy and political system are really shitty, we are always seeking to stand out and be heard.

It makes sense. Why selling art outside the virtuality when the pieces are naturally born here.  In the future, I´m hoping for more collectors educated around art and guys like you <3