(2023) Uprooted - Ghost I & II 
              On going project
Using the metaphor of an uprooted tree, I am exploring themes of migration and extraction, drawing parallels between nature, personal experiences, family narratives and history. Delving into historical roots, particularly the sixteenth century, I examine the coloniality of knowledge with its distinct Western function— possessing and dispossessing of land, the uprooting of beliefs and a tangible extraction of culture buried in the soil.



(2023) Memory Behind Steel
Discarded wood, vinyl, acetate and paper print, mesh, concrete, threat on plaster.  595 x 430 mm

Series of artworks exploring how the imposed geometry of urban landscapes reinforces systems of oppression and disconnects us from nature. Embracing the concept of "unfinished" as a pathway to new narratives. Incompleteness serves as an invitation, not a limit. Conventional urban design often prioritizes isolated, polished spaces, stifling urban vitality and diversity.

(2022) The Body Weight of Passports
              On going project


Concrete brick with Venezuelan passport Dimensions: Standard UK brick size 215 x 102.5 x 65mm

Revealing and exploring the effects of the passport on the body thorugh scupture and performance.A passport is commonly known as a small booklet issued by a government to identify its holder as a citizen and facilitate international travel. However, its significance extends beyond mere documentation, and its impact can vary greatly depending on one's privilege.

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(2022) Continued Possession -
Monsters Alphabet 

Monster collection from Artworks / Collages / Animations & NFT. Originally created from paper waste.

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(2022) Construction Site PortraitsLandscapes
Found object board, paper, carton, plastic paper. Dimensions: 594 x 841 mm.

Site-specific installation that emerged from a Psychogeography workshop at the RCA. The installation features two mixed-media compositions that visually interpret my psychogeographic encounter with Ryan and Felix, two construction workers from White City and Shoreditch.

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(2023) The Rock & The Cylinder

Found Object: metal cylinder, thread, concrete, discarded fabric, black oil stick and sediments. 
Dimensions: 450 x 360mm

Infographic sculpture, examining to what extend the imposed geometry of the urban landscape can reinforced systems of oppression.


(2023) Cerrando las Venas
On going project

Migration & Capital - Venezuelan banknotes, Oil and black thread.

(2023) Can I wear my Sculpture, Yes I can.
Self Portrait
Found objects from the construction site, aluminium, hoody, fabric with violent landscape in plaster and dust. Dimensions: 810 x 580mm

This self-portrait sculpture reflects personal and societal oppression, delving into how urban geometry and divisions reinforce such systems, impacting one's identity. It draws upon the theoretical framework of mestiza double consciousness* as articulated by Latin American writer and cultural theorist, Gloria Evangelina Anzaldúa, which refers to the experience of living between two or more cultural identities.


(2023) CMP
Wood board, paper, canvas, thread, branches, oil stick, acrylic, spray paint and pencil.
Dimensions: 1040 x 675mm
 
Exploring through collage, the colonial matrix of power with its 4 areas of experience or domains that control and shape meaning, sensing, knowing, and believing. Each domain runs almost invisible for some and is validated and established at the expense of those that have been destituted in history. As a result, everything organic is suffering and dying within the confines of artificial organization. The disruption of the planet and its people is rationalized under the pretext of 'development,' leading to the deprivation of opportunities for sustainable economies and harmonious living. [1]

[1] Mignolo, Walter. The Politics of Decolonial Investigations. Duke University Press, 2021.


(2023) Untitled
Paper, canvas, discarded paper, acetate, acrylic, oil, soft pastels.
Dimensions: 297 x 420 mm

Investigating the relationship between different appearances through the lens of mestiza double consciousness in relation to the city of London. I came to delve into the complex interplay of identity, culture, and perception. Mestiza double consciousness refers to the experience of individuals who embody multiple cultural identities and navigate the tensions and contradictions that arise from these multiple perspectives.


(2022) GLASS Speaks in five (5) different tongues
Participatory research performance to confront - dissolve and transform. Inspired by psychodrama methods.

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(2021) Cumulus Cloud
Acrylic on paper and later digitalised to be compartmentalise and depicted into graphic forms.

(2021) Wet Paper Smells After Two (2) Days
Documentation of experiment session with artist Tomas Eyzaguirre, taking place on the 8th of September 2021 at the White Rectangle [] in Berlin.

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(2021) Concrete Upotias - Manifesting new realities
Concrete Utopias explores the intersections of diverse utopian scenarios and the materiality of those.


(-2023) Poster Compilation
Various posters compilation from different projects.

(2021) Die Hasen Stunde Nr.01 (The Hour of the Hare) 
Tomás Eyzaguirre, The Absence of Inhibition

Biannual publication with an experimental approach, featuring cross-disciplinary artists at the early stages of their careers. 

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(2020) Good Point 
Good Point agency helps good people tell powerful stories. Concept & Creative direction for key visuals.


(2022) Male Abortion
Project proposal to contribute on the dismantling of the stigma that surrounds the topic of abortion.


(2020) St. Oberholz
Identity refresh and various communication materials for Sankt Oberholz

(2019) Criptocurrency Art Auction 
Exploring the aesthetics of protest to foster the spirit of self-reflexivity, to eradicate indifference and instigate thought process


(2018) Manifesto
Video animation and illustrations. Excerpt from: Valentine de Saint – Point (1912) Manifesto of futurist woman.


︎︎︎ ABOUT

Maria Helena Toscano is a multidisciplinary award-winner designer and artist.

 @ White Rectangle []

Maria Helena Toscano is an award winner designer with a contemporary art practice based in Berlin.