Table of Contents
Since the origin of our species, human beings have depended on natural resources for our survival and development. While sustainability practices are increasingly widespread in today’s society, the state of the environment continues to deteriorate. As such, it is necessary to rethink our relationship with nature.
Photo Diana Beltrán Herrera:
This is the thesis put forward in the work of Diana Beltrán Herrera, which includes practices such as illustration, sculpture, design and photography. The Colombian artist’s pieces, created from everyday materials – paper in particular – exhibit vibrant colours, textures and compositions with an emphasis on beauty and fragility, with an intricate level of detail
Art inspired by nature
Most notable in Beltrán Herrera’s artistic training is her Masters in Fine Arts from the University of the West of England (UWE) in Bristol, the city where she now lives. But her artistic adventures were first forged with experimental painting and ceramic sculpture workshops. She studied the latter in Helsinki, a city where she did a residency by invitation of the artist Hanni Bjartalid.
There she drew inspiration from nature, from animals such as the foxes, rabbits and birds commonly seen on the streets of Finland, for her first creations in relief. Motivated by curiosity, she slowly worked on perfecting the Kirigami technique – papercutting with scissors – and folding, until she was able to skilfully give life to her famous birds decorated with watercolours.
Examples of birds:
One of her most recent works of this type is the figure of a White-headed duck, a diving duck on the brink of extinction, for the Oceanografic Valencia in Spain.
White-headed duck working process:
Nature in general is her most recurrent theme, spanning a range of animals, flowers, marine ecosystems and tropical forests, among others.
Examples:
Product launch designs
Beltrán Herrera’s paper figures have accompanied numerous product promotion campaigns, such as floral illustrations for the launch of a new line from cosmetics company Bipa, or the packaging and photography of fruits and vegetables for a sustainability campaign for food producer Ja Natürlich.
HOFF, a footwear, accessories and casual wear brand, relaunched its “Bird” collection with two images on their social media, based on two bird silhouettes with their corresponding sneaker style, as well as two paper sculptures for their physical stores in Europe.
She has also collaborated on several occasions with the Shangri-La Hotel in Hong Kong, creating, for example, an installation depicting a local deer and butterfly in a kind of magical window, inviting children to discover the city. There was also a Christmas room with nods to “The Nutcracker” for two of their family suites.
Outside of her nature-inspired motifs, one of her most complex pieces was a recreation of the Millennium Falcon with paper and cardboard for Disney. It took her three months to complete the sketches and a further two weeks to build the piece from scratch.
Illustrations for records, books and board games
The paper artist has not only worked with brands, but has also delved into the world of culture, with the design of album covers, such as Stewart Copeland’s “Wild Concerto”, featuring birdsong and animal noises, and KPM Music’s “Vocal Instruments” series, which represented the theme of inclusion through silhouettes.
She also has much experience in the world of literature, having designed covers for several novels by the bestselling author Ruth Hogan, and also magazines such as “Onward”.
Beltrán Herrera’s colourful and elegant illustrations have even starred in fun board games.
Personal projects
Despite her high volume of commissions, the Bristol-based artist still finds time for her own research. She has explored, for example, the theme of cats – their shapes, their character – inspired by ancient stone carvings from European cultures. Another element she has perfected and filled with details is that of mushrooms, which she had never before created in paper. She has recently begun incorporating fabrics to experiment with different textures.
Herrera Beltrán has participated in several solo and group exhibitions, both in her home country and internationally.