‘It was a way of processing violences I’ve survived’: how iconoclastic musician Arca beat burnout with frenzied painting

By Oliver Basciano•The Guardian Music

After a meteoric decade in music, supporting the likes of Madonna and Beyoncé, the 36-year-old Venezuelan crashed out. Now the nightmarish paintings that got her back on track are on displayBefore Arca had released eight albums, including her Kick pentalogy; before she had collaborated with Björk and Rosalía and supported Beyoncé and Madonna in concert; the electronic musician, real name Alejandra Ghersi, was a young teen in her Caracas bedroom, uploading 3D animations to DeviantArt, the early-00s social media site for artists.“As many renderings as my family’s computer could handle,” the 36-year-old recalls. This interest in visual art comes full circle when the musician opens her first institutional exhibition at the ICA in London. Continue reading...

After a meteoric decade in music, supporting the likes of Madonna and Beyoncé, the 36-year-old Venezuelan crashed out. Now the nightmarish paintings that got her back on track are on display

Before Arca had released eight albums, including her Kick pentalogy; before she had collaborated with Björk and Rosalía and supported Beyoncé and Madonna in concert; the electronic musician, real name Alejandra Ghersi, was a young teen in her Caracas bedroom, uploading 3D animations to DeviantArt, the early-00s social media site for artists.

“As many renderings as my family’s computer could handle,” the 36-year-old recalls. This interest in visual art comes full circle when the musician opens her first institutional exhibition at the ICA in London.

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