Iñaki Oñate

Iñaki Oñate | The Life Of The Artist | 2024

Your series is titled “The Size of Hope.” What does “hope” mean to you in the context of your work?

The title of my series was inspired by another title. A book of essays by Jorge Luis Borges called “El tamaño de mi esperanza” (The size of my hope). He wrote it in his youth and I was in my twenties when I started working on this series of artworks.

There was something vibrant and youthful in those essays by Borges that for some reason inspired me, but it was the title of his book in particular that captured my attention on a subconscious level. In my case I decided to refer to the concept of hope not in a personal way (my hope) but in a more universal or general way (of hope). The Size Of Hope is a never ending series of drawings. Like I mentioned, I started this series years ago and it is an open series. Constantly being updated by new drawings and paintings. In the context of this series, hope is a concept that encompasses all the aspects that define humanity (beauty, horror, tenderness, cruelty, faith, uncertainty, brevity and eternity). Hope is such a vast and complex concept that suits the idea of a never ending series of drawings.

How do you approach the connection between the mind and the hand when creating?

In my case the connection between the hand and creating is simultaneous. Sometimes the hand comes up with an idea before the mind and other times the other way around. I believe in the idea of a “thinking hand”.

Iñaki Oñate | The Angel Of History | 2024

Many of your pieces mix abstract elements with symbolic figures. What role do symbols play in your visual language?

I believe that the symbolic dimension of reality is far more influential in our everyday life than we actually think. We are made of symbols and metaphors. We are symbolic animals.

You work across multiple disciplines—film, music, drawing. How do these practices influence one another in your creative process?

These disciplines converge. Each one is a subsidiary language of a main and fundamental one that we could call the artistic language.

The artistic language, the artistic expression, could be defined as a way to interpret, represent and intervene reality in a poetic fashion.

Iñaki Oñate | The Machine Is Hungry | 2023

Several of your works evoke themes of violence, death, and isolation. Are these personal reflections, social commentaries, or both?

The idea of hope,the idea of a better world can only be conceived if we contrast that optimism with the darkest aspects of human nature. Therefore, it is inevitable to address and reflect upon the horrific side of the human soul.

What’s the role of spontaneity or improvisation in your drawings?

Sometimes drawings are born out of spontaneity. A line drawn in the paper or a stain of ink might evoke something in my mind and I can develop a whole illustration out of that. On other occasions I do think and have a previous conceptualization for a certain idea that I want to address through a graphic artwork.

Your characters seem to exist in states of anguish or transformation. Do they represent parts of yourself or collective human experiences?

My characters do reflect my inner states of anguish and transformation. They represent parts of my mind and my heart but It is fair to say that I belong to a human collective and I assume that the other people of that collective called the human race are also in similar states of anguish and transformation. We all share this nightmare and dream called life. We also share dark days and bright days. We all hope for something good despite the darkness of the world and the weather report.