Gisela McDaniel
1 collaboration
Gisela McDaniel’s lush, celebratory portraits are platforms for healing that cherish community voices. As a person of indigenous Chamorro descent and a survivor of sexual assault, lived experience is at the heart of the artist’s creative philosophy. She primarily paints women of colour, non-binary people of colour and survivors of sexual violence. Sourced by word of mouth, each model has control over their representation, from settings and poses to the inclusion of personal possessions. Thus, the act of painting becomes a transfer of power back to historically oppressed individuals. Dense layers of paint and pigment create the vibrant scenes, in which smoothly blended gradients contrast thick, sculptural masses of paint. Careful attention to colour and depth sees figures illuminated in warm, homely lighting – cosily enveloped by their surroundings.
