Today our attention is drawn to a self-taught Mexican painter known as Mafloku. Mafloku has created a series of water-colors that seem almost as if they are fairytales told through color. And just as fairytales relate archetypal stories that are universally understood, so do Mafloku’s paintings tap into a collective experience.
Great artists have the ability to perceive feelings that others miss. Their antennae are sensitive and are able to pick up undercurrents that are present in the culture in which they live. Considering that the response to Mafloku’s work has been overwhelmingly positive, clearly he is on to something.
When asked why he thinks his work is having an impact, Mafloku says,“What makes me the happiest of all is that it detonates something in the viewers and owners of the pieces. This is what it is aimed to say and represent, those things you may feel either consciously or subconsciously but can’t quite put a finger on it, and unknowingly you might even share with those around you.”
Mafloku had no experience with art until two years ago when he picked up a brush. Prior to that he worked in finance, for both the Mexican government and the private sector. Although he was financially secure, he wanted something more. He started to pay attention to the images running through his imagination.
Painted in nearly translucent colors, his scenes at first appear light and airy; upon closer inspection, they have a quality that is vaguely malevolent.
Sometimes his subjects seem benign, as when two small children stand on the shoulders of a giant Lego-style toy, poised to fight.
Sometimes the images are ominous, as when a little girl challenges a pint-sized raptor by tugging on his tail.
According to Mafloku, ”The only thing I do is let the ghosts we all have inside speak in color.”
When we asked Mafloku to expand on his process, he offered some insights:
“I would define my paintings as postcards from the imagination, they´re the voice of quite a few thoughts that I think haunt us all, but only some give outlet to.”Indeed, Mafloku’s art is attracting many ardent patrons. They recognize that, like any great artist, Mafloku has his finger on a pulse that beats under society’s veneer.
Explore his paintings here. The images may change the way you view our world.
