Doorway

Carmen Ceniga Prado's practice explores her own body and its spectrums through abstraction, particularly the in-between feelings and internal sensations that arise before they are categorized by the body and mind as emotional or physical. Here, abstraction is used to depict the formless and visceral, offering an entry point into an embodied space. Ceniga Prado's past engagement with wood carving reflects an investment in materiality and process. The tactile, labour-intensive nature of carving provcolour grounding physicality; however, it also imposed formal constraints when attempting to convey states of flux and indeterminacy. As she delves deeper into her own body, following a diagnosis of chronic pain, painting or mark-making becomes a way to access and express bodily presence and movements. It raises questions such as: What shape does a sigh have? Painting becomes a tool for accessing the liminal space between emotions and physical sensations, embracing their impermanence and transformations.

Doorway carries the sensitivity to the nuances of the body, and the inward process of attuning to its shifting sensations. These notions about the body emerged more fully after Ceniga Prado's relocation to Southeast Asia. She employs a limited palette, tonally expanded through the use of transparency. The interplay between opacity and translucence suggests shadow and light more than colour itself, ultimately creating space and depth. The gradual tonal shifts evoke a sense of change and emphasize the subtle movements between shades. In this way, the rhythm and vitality of her marks are brought to the forefront. In her new body of works, Ceniga Prado also stitches together pieces of canvas fragments, a technique that resembles piecing together fragments of understanding until a full image is seen. This process mirrors the ongoing journey of learning about our ever-changing internal bodies. In tracing the body's quiet rhythms, her paintings gesture toward a language beyond words, one that unfolds by looking into the spaces in between.