Welcome to the Bunker Questionnaire, a new series in which we ask Bunker Projects residents and exhibiting artists three questions from Marcel Proust’s famous Proust Questionnaire, a survey that purported to reveal a person’s true nature. We hope their answers and the accompanying photos allow you to get to know them and their work a little bit more.
Ree Artemisa is a self taught artist who paints spells and make alternative comics. Their work explores themes of Mexican, Chicana and Indigenous heritage, working-class queer culture, nature and cultural reconnection.
Describe yourself in three words.
“Practicing hope, daily.”
Who are your favorite artists/the ones who’ve influenced you most?
“For painting, I would say Henry Darger is my No. 1 influence of all time. I found out about his work when I was a teenager and remember falling in love with its unhinged beauty and being disturbed by it all at once. I love that he wanted to keep his art a secret—mine gets so personal that I feel similarly sometimes. The comics of Jaime Hernandez made me want to tell my own stories as a queer Chicana. I was thrilled to see something I recognized. In an often less-than-diverse sea of cartoonists, he’s an incredible storyteller.”
What is your idea of happiness?
“A place to grow flowers and feed my loved ones.”
Photos by Lucia Riffel
If you’d like to support Bunker Projects’ mission to provide a safe, equitable space for emerging artists to develop their practice and create new works for exhibition, please consider joining our Bunker Commons program or making a one-time or recurring donation here. We are so grateful for your generosity.
