NOWNESS

Venezuelan Artist Victoria Ruiz Reflects on Childhood Against Political Crisis Through Symbolism

Venezuelan visual artist Victoria Ruiz uses a lyrical, color‑driven performance to explore how her childhood memories intersect with the country’s ongoing political and economic crisis. The piece weaves personal exile with collective trauma, employing symbolic motifs that echo the nation’s fractured reality. Ruiz assigns each hue a narrative function: red denotes the original hunger for control, blue begins serene but burns into obsession, and yellow glows like concealed danger. Masks illustrate the duality of public compliance and private dissent, while fire and a dancing masked figure embody both passion and the volatile volatility of protest. A striking image of two figures sharing a single mask, and a red macaw soaring as a “messenger of gods,” underscore the tension between loss and hope. The artist also highlights a “family built by choice,” suggesting that chosen bonds become the true refuge when institutional structures collapse. By translating political rupture into visual symbolism, Ruiz offers a portable narrative for the Venezuelan diaspora and for global audiences confronting authoritarianism. The work underscores how art can preserve memory, foster solidarity, and inspire action amid systemic silence.