Anechka Paredes Saniel

Anechka Paredes Saniel | Astraloria Gallery Photo | 2024

Can you tell us more about the world of Astraloria? How did the concept first come to you?

The world of Astraloria is full of wonder, magic and ties between the love of the light and the dark. From another viewpoint, however, it is also the relationship of chaos, where many religions believe that the world came from nothing and chaos. It brings about the harmony of two sides that intertwine beautifully because of a genuine bond between the two entities. The concept first came to me from a story someone who used to be in my life wrote for me to fall asleep to. Due to unfortunate reasons, I had to leave them to be myself again. It was a project I began before I left, but I decided to turn it into something of my own and of my imagination. By recreating the project in a new light, I decided to take the idea of two souls whose stories overlap because of love, something I have dreamed of my entire life. Astraloria became romantic and majestic instead of its original form of just a princess and a knight. Although I kept the title to keep this longing feeling of shooting stars and wishes that dazzle the dress part, which is open to interpretation. It’s important to keep many of the original aspects and tie in with the new to form a much larger image of darkness and healing.

Your statement touches on the “romanticization of darkness and its contrasting light.” How do you visually represent this duality in your work?

Astraloria is a series of 3 parts, so I will explain each of them: the dress represents how the light and the dark, very much like the Yin and Yang, are entangled with each other, creating a sight that no one expects out of chaos. With its form, it adds the character of balance in the world; the light cannot survive with a bit of darkness.

The video is the literal spoken story of Astraloria, which is a poetic form of the world of Astraloria. The voice of the poem speaks volumes of romance, almost enchanting the viewer to be pulled into the words.

The final part, being the piano compositions, is set up of a variation of songs composed for Astraloria. Whether it is connected to the story or not, it opens a portal to the real world with Astraloria that is full of fantasy, pure evil and love. It is like simple concepts turned into an emotional attraction. It is beauty, grace and destruction.

Visually, altogether, the duality between all three parts portrays not being able to have one or the other; thriving on the brink of chaos is the only way to survive, resulting in a euphoric peace.

What emotions or thoughts do you hope to evoke in your audience when they view this installation?

Confusion, entranced, anger, infatuation, sadness, everything. To also empathize with, to comprehend the storyline, the music and the vision. A world of your own and yet, of another and more. I want the audience to relate Astraloria to themselves mentally and emotionally. Astraloria may be of my wishes and desires, but it was also displayed to be for the people and made by the people, to compare and contrast with the real world. It is important to stay in touch with your sentimental values and how they’ll guide you on life’s journey.

The garment includes a mixture of textures and colors—how do you choose your materials, and do they carry symbolic meaning?

When it comes to choosing my garments, I make sure that every aspect of the threads and the fabric can visually represent what it is supposed to. For example, like how snakeskin-pattern fabric can symbolize a cunning manner or an actual snake. With the dress I created, I found gorgeous fabric a while ago that was supposed to be used for another gown I created, and luckily, I had leftovers! Not only was I able to reuse wonderful fabric, but it was also able to symbolize itself in another concept I wanted to display. The red being the darkness, the white being a hero of light, while the black was tied in the dress altogether. Overall, the gown, with the fabric braids and the fabrics sewn together, is visually able to create this chaotic form that contradicts itself because it does not appear chaotic; it constructs a collective of the concept. The small pearl flower clips were a last-minute idea to add the starry effect for “the light at the end of the dark path” symbolization.

Anechka Paredes Saniel | Astraloria Fashion Design | 2024

Fashion, music, and visual arts all play a role in your creative process. How do you integrate these elements into a cohesive artistic language?

As an artistic fashion designer, I aim to combine all of my talents because each of them has a sole connection to me as a person, and my identity is in chaos, and I thrive in it. I am able to take pieces of my love for art and polish a presentable art idea that is abstract and magical. Magic is my goal in art, also pulling in my lasting imagination with the reality of the world, which I view as dull sometimes.

In what ways do your cultural background or personal experiences influence the themes of longing, emotion, and time in Astraloria?

I come from a Filipino-Canadian background, and I did not grow up in the Philippines. However, much of the cultural identity and standards of Asia affect my culture heavily. This means that I grew up with both of my parents, being a nurse and an engineer themselves, to be part of the health field, law or engineering field. Due to these standards and so much more, I fought within a strict environment of not being able to see the world through my own eyes as I grew up with the dreams and goals of my parents. As the environment was extremely toxic, I believe the longing in Astraloria relates to me so much as I always felt like Rapunzel stuck in her tower, waiting for her rescue. Then, emotion, being so young, emotional, angry and confused at the world, as I always wondered why I could not have the life that other children had; I longed for freedom. Finally, time in Astraloria feels so large in its way, like there is so much more to explore, yet it takes all the time in the world to discover every inch of the world. I feel like time is an eternity, and it absolutely was not my best friend for the longest time. Now, as an adult, I have become so in touch with the Astraloria world that I realize it is because of freedom and change.

Was there a specific story or narrative you envisioned while creating the costume?

I envisioned myself in the costume. As selfish as it may sound, I do this with many of my garments, picking out short stories for each as they all symbolize themes and ideas from the life I grew up in and where I am now. At first, it was a trap, something that I could not break out of, as if there were chains in my mind that I could not unlock. Then, it was destructive, as I felt like the dress was now what I wanted, so I began to sew on more and more until there was the disorder I craved in my creations. I wanted the disarray in every part of Astraloria because, without it, what is Astraloria? So, the central narrative is the uproar of dreams and nightmares. What is real? What is fake? Where does this path lead to? Who am I? Who are you? What is life now, as my ties have been severed and thrown into the world? And the questions go on and on. Astraloria is a masterpiece of alluring radiance of so many emotions in one installation.