Bio
Beatriz Bellorin is a Venezuelan-American photo and video based artist and documentary filmmaker who uses the archive to examine narratives related to memory, displacement and identity. Her artistic practice combines anthropological research and autobiography to explore how these documents overlap and intertwine, challenging notions of memory through emotional and collective dimensions of social issues. She holds a BA in sociology from the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Caracas, Venezuela) and a MA in Visual Anthropology from Goldsmiths, University of London. She studied photography at the Nelson Garrido Organization (Caracas) and participated in the artistic training program Ecosistema de Afectos (Buenos Aires, Argentina).
Selected group and solo shows include Holocaust Museum Houston, Post, Houston, Lawndale Art Center, the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Aperture Foundation, Museum Fine Arts Houston in the traveling group exhibition of Latin American Photobooks and Espacio MAD, Caracas. Beatriz work has been featured in publications such as Visions of Motherhood, La fotografía impresa en Venezuela, Sur- Revista de foto libros latinoamericanos and Clap 10x10: Contemporary Latin American Photobooks 2000-2016. She is co-founder of Automático Films, Foco Sustentable, Centro Lyra, organizations aimed at promoting sustainable development and storytelling for at-risk populations in Latin America. She lives and work in Houston.
Statement
I use personal and collective archives to question social narratives about memory, identity, migration, and displacement, focusing on their emotional impact. I document, organize, and categorize repetitive sequences of gestures, events, or phenomena. Drawing from my experiences, I investigate the memories embedded within materials and objects.
Primarily using photography and video, I transform traditional prints into diverse compositions, incorporating materials such as fabrics, vintage objects, data, and acetates to evoke the ephemeral nature of time and memory. These fragmented moments blur the lines between past and present. Photography, video art, installations, performances, and books serve as platforms to pose questions on collective and intimate issues.
By assembling and deconstructing fragments from the collective imaginary, I create my own audiovisual grammar, aiming to recognize the universal within the individual. The interplay with fragments invites interpretations that can complement, contradict, and resonate in diverse ways. My work stems from a nostalgic place, engaging with themes of loss and transformation. Recently, by exploring archives as spaces that conceal and reveal, I aim to uncover overlooked layers of women's experiences and the profound changes they undergo.