Meet the Artist Who Turns Venezuelan Protest Music into Art

ABC Arts

Topic: Visual Art

Hernandez's latest work is about Venezuelan protest music.

Nadia Hernandez misses many things about Venezuela.

Hernandez is from Merida, a city in the Venezuelan Andes.

She says it's very emotional to miss these things.

Hernandez misses her childhood home, the mountains, and the flowers.

Hernandez was born in Venezuela and moved to the US when she was nine.

When she was 16, she moved to Brisbane to study fine arts.

Now she lives in Melbourne with a growing Venezuelan community.

Hernandez can't return to Venezuela due to the government.

Hernandez connects with her culture through her art.

Hernandez won an art award in 2021 and was a finalist in two other prizes.

Two years ago, she started a project about Venezuelan protest music.

Her latest work is a multidisciplinary installation at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Venezuela has a strong tradition of protest.

Venezuela has a strong tradition of protest, especially in music.

Millions of people protested against the government of President Nicolas Maduro.

Hernandez grew up listening to Venezuelan protest music.

She still listens to this music when she works.

This music gives her strength and understanding.

Hernandez completed a residency in Miami, a center of the Venezuelan diaspora.

Her latest work builds on earlier installations in Oslo and Hong Kong.

The project's title pays homage to Venezuelan folk music.

Gaita is a type of Venezuelan folk music that often reflects on current events.

Gaita often has elements of protest.

Other types of Venezuelan music also have political expressions.

Hernandez finds it interesting to see the different musical traditions.

A growing archive

Hernandez's work has three elements: a textile collage, a soundscape, and a mural.

The wall painting is site-specific and features collaborators.

The project includes additional Venezuelan voices.

Collaborators contributed to the 46-minute soundscape.

Hernandez invited artists to reflect on the power of songs.

A new addition to the soundscape is a clip recorded in Caracas.

The clip is by Venezuelan educator Eileyn Ugueto.

Ugueto preserves and celebrates Afro-Venezuelan dance and music.

The soundscape features fragments from a lecture by Abraham Araujo.

The soundscape also features field recordings from Hernandez's hometown.

The contributions are diverse but speak to each other.

Hernandez wanted to allow people to express something personal.

The work features the second verse of Hernandez's textile banners.

The textiles keep amassing, and the sound fragments do as well.

Art as protest

Does Hernandez consider her work as a form of protest?

Yes, she does.

Hernandez thinks art is a powerful form of self-expression and protest.

The message in her work is about sharing cultural traditions.

Hernandez has to observe the political crisis in Venezuela from afar.

She still sees what's happening in Venezuela and has family there.

These connections are nourished through art.

Hernandez's artistic process is based on family stories and anecdotes.

It's an everyday practice.

The exhibition is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales until June 21.

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