Hansel Obando
Is an Illustrator based in Nantes - France
Hansel Obando is a Colombian collage artist living and working in Nantes, France. His work focuses on the creation of he describes as “microuniverses” in which nature is the main character and the need for her respect is often discussed through themes of mysticism, ancient rituals and non-western religious practices where nature is central. His work questions our consumerism of natural resources and advocates for the protection of the our most vulnerable communities such as Colombia´s Indigenous and Afro-Colombian populations.
He is currently working on a body of work discussing cosmogony, storytelling and oral histories of
Colombia´s Indigenous peoples.
After ten years living in Argentina he returned to Colombia. Since 2015, he has devoted his time to working with analog and digital collage.
Selected Awards:
Award of Excellence / SND Chicago. 2017Category: 16Bb Information Graphics [Single] Nation & World/Non-Deadline Headline: News Paper El Colombiano.
Selected Published Works:
Editorial Illustration: El Colombiano, Vivir en el Poblado, Nexus, Universo Centro, Playboy (Colombia), Rolling Stone (Colombia) - he designed the image of the invitation of the 5th anniversary of Rolling Stone in Colombia
Book cover: (Correr la Tierra - Written by Catalina Navas) Editoral Planeta - Seix Barral.
Selected International Publications:
Editorial Illustration: Socialter and the Cover illustration for Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Numéro 9 – Le(s) Présent(s) (France)
Video: FANIA ALL STAR (USA) "Una Navidad con Coro Crescendo Arte" A serie of 5 stop motion animation videos using collage. Director: Timothée Callec,
OXFAM International ‘Development’: A visual story of shifting power.
Participate
He was invited to participate in "My Story. Many Stories: Projects on Migration, Borders and Identities"from the American Arts Incubator Colombia Laboratorio en las Fronteras 2020.
American Arts Incubator is an initiative of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that is developed in partnership with ZERO1. American Arts Incubator Colombia 2020 was led by Wendy Levy and produced in collaboration with U.S. Embassy, Bogota and Museo de Arte Moderno, Barranquilla
Selected Clients
OXFAM International
El Colombiano (Newspaper)
Universo Centro (Newspaper)
Fania Records
Socialter
Latest Exhibitions
2017
El Faire (Anagramas)
Medellín
2018
RedCollage (Uno más uno)
Bogotá
2020
MY STORY. MANY STORIES.
Virtual Gallery
This virtual exhibition is the culminating collective work of Laboratorio en las Fronteras, a project of the 2020 American Arts Incubator in Colombia. Due to COVID-19, we worked together virtually for four weeks, exploring migration and identity in the context of the Colombia/Venezuela border crisis. The participating artists centered their work around four themes: Moving/Stillness, Fragments, Reconfiguration of Identity, and Refuge. Think of each project here as a work-in-progress, designed specifically for this virtual space, and also existing in the world as the creative expression of an independent artist attempting to survive the pandemic. In the Lab, the barriers we faced, and the boundaries we crossed, became part of work. The stories embedded in these virtual galleries reflect the powerful lived experiences of extraordinary intergenerational artists at this unique moment in time.
2021
Alquimia Tropical
Paris - France