Flamboyant images of popular culture: Roberta Marrero

“Why do I put the hello kitty bow on a Hilter’s picture? I just think  it is a good idea…”

Pop, sex, Christianity, Bowie, death, divinity, mass consumption…The inspired artist, Roberta Marrero, called us from Canary Islands!

Where are you at the moment? And what are you up to?
Right now I am in Canary Islands visiting my family, but I live in Copenhagen.

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself. Who is Roberta Marrero? What does she do mostly?
I have been a DJ, a singer, an actress, I wrote for magazines in the past but what I am is an artist. Art is what I do.

What is the main idea behind your collages? What are you trying to say through them?
I work a lot with my subconscious. I have ideas that I put on paper and I work trying not to think too much, just by instinct. There is no message per se in my work, of course I have things to say but is more interesting to let the viewer get their own conclusions about what you do, then art becomes alive. I think that if you have to explain what you do as an artist then something is wrong, your work should talk by itself.

What is your ultimate motivation to keep producing them?
Nazi Jesus Christ. I am working now in a series of images of the sacred heart of Jesus wearing a band on the left arm with a swastika.

How do you choose your visual material? Why  specifically the pop culture icon and well known artwork?
They are things I like or things I hate. I use to work with images of power, remaking them, perverting them. Some of them are philias like classic Hollywood or Andy Warhol and some of the are phobias like fascist and catholic imagery.

Where does the quotations on your collages come from? And how do you match them with the visuals?
Some are mine, some are from people I adore like Aleister Crowley or Oscar Wilde, lyrics from songs I love. I just mix them, it is the subconscious thing again….why do I put the hello kitty bow on a Hilter’s picture?, I just think is a good idea…

You must have a special relation to Tom of Finland. His artwork is one of the most recurring visuals in your art, what is it really?
Gay pornography and erotica from the seventies is hot like hell.

What do you think is your primary influences? Do you think your art is influenced by a favorite genre or an artist?
I have a lot of influences: classic Hollywood and catholic imagery, marvel comics, pop culture from the XX century, publicity, Punk, pop music, David Bowie, John Waters, books, etc etc etc. I would say that my biggest influence is Andy Warhol because of the way he understood Art and how to produce it.

How does your creative schedule work? You are pretty productive, are you a disciplined artist who spend regulated hours every day in the studio?
I try to work everyday, but sometimes I rest just to let my mind  come up with new ideas. I have a lot of discipline so if I am not working on a piece I am doing something else like answering an interview, writing emails, etc. I like to work alone and in silence.

Have you recently discovered any new favorite artists? Whom/what are you following these days in terms of platforms to discover new art?
My two favorite artist right now are Ryan Heshka and Aitor Saraiba.