Artist statement
My name is Ashley Abreu, I’m a 22 year old artist from Haarlem. My work is often directly linked to myself and dissects any personal stories or problems I’m dealing with or have dealt with in the past. Using personal subjects in my work is a way for me to cope with feelings in a healthy way, but also to create recognition for others who might have experienced the same things.
I don’t like limiting myself to one medium so I guess you could say I’m a mixed media artist. I just pick whatever feels right for the subject I'm dealing with and roll with it, often adding other mediums along the way. A few examples include digital art, photoshopping selfmade pictures, different printing techniques and scanning in personal items or pictures.
I made a vow to myself, to always remain authentic and true to myself, but most importantly; to have fun. If I ever break that vow, cut off my fingers and never allow me to make art again, because what is art without joy and authenticity?
Ambitions
I’m not entirely sure where I want to be in 5 years from now, but what I do know is that I’m always looking to broaden my horizon. Besides art, I also really enjoy writing and photography, so I suppose my goal is to keep exploring myself and my abilities, to eventually combine everything that excites me and make it my full-time job!
Learned during the studies
The most important thing I learned during my time at HKU is to never doubt yourself, even when things go south. It’s very easy to write off your work as bad after getting negative feedback, but I think we tend to forget how subjective art truly is. In my opinion; good art is something you’re proud of yourself. Not a teacher, not your audience but YOU! Another thing I learned is to not be afraid to delve into the unknown, trying out new things will always help you evolve your artistic eye and improve your work.
