Meet Ana Vergara | Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ana Vergara and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ana, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
Being a new mom, my work-life balance has definitely changed quite a bit. I went from getting up early in the morning and spending most of my day challenging myself with new materials, pushing ideas, and working on big projects, to being at home with my 3 month old daughter. It has taken so much for me to give myself grace and accept that for my practice and my sanity to survive, I needed a change of pace. Slowing down a bit and choosing lighter materials to work with has actually benefited me and my practice; this shift in pace has allowed me to actively practice being present and intentional with my time, with what I create, and with what I share.
My work and my life have become very intertwined- I find myself making more personal work about my life as a mother. While pregnant, I feared not being able to work between her schedule, but now I find myself taking photos and drawing throughout the day. Not just between feedings, naps, diaper changes, but actively capturing moments involving my daughter and not separating my work and my motherhood. Once my daughter is in her crib for the night, I ‘synthesize’ these moments, almost as a recap of the day. For now, I am enjoying this new balance. Though I am not quite ready to share these new works about motherhood and my daughter, I am excited to be reentering a routine where I can create again.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My work is based on highlighting cultural identifiers I find within the space and city I live in. I primarily worked with site-specific or installation based art, however I have been recently making mixed media drawings and photographs. I study patterns which define our culture, particularly cultural shifts through forcefully rapid changes. Often, my work also portrays elevated commonplace imagery in urban environments. I do this to speak about intimate lives, familiar spaces/homes, and family via the use of repeated symbols and architectural motifs I find in Miami. Using various materials and mediums such as weathered concrete, used interior wallpapers, architectural signage, bricks, short-circuited LED lights, candles, etc., I seek to create works that make us more aware of the patterns, signs, and symbols which surround and define us culturally.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Though I haven’t visited in a while (tough with a three month old, haha), I would tell people to consider visiting places like Locust Projects or Tunnel. I really enjoy both for their welcoming of new and experimental projects. They’ve always got something interesting going on.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to dedicate this shoutout to my partner, Andres. Pregnancy and postpartum is incredibly difficult both physically and mentally, and he’s been the only person who I feel understands me, grounds me back to reality, and encourages me to both be a better mother and to continue with my art career.

Website: anavergara.art

Instagram: anasvergara