Boxhead, The Story.
It was 2009, I had just left Amsterdam and I was at my parents house back in Spain, heartbroken after a failed relationship and all the failed plans that were made...
The memories of me growing up (the good and the bad) and the feelings attached to that house, they all surrounded me, poking me, like flies on a window.
One night in bed, as I was about to fall asleep, I envisioned a little girl in a white dress running... with a cardboard box on her head.
I quickly left my bed and did some half asleep sketches in my book.
The morning after I continued evolving the character. I gave her a name and Boxhead was born.
I have been drawing since I can remember, there was something in this little character that resonated with me more than any other drawing I had ever done.
It was a time when I knew I had to leave, I had to escape, but I also understood that no matter how far or how fast I went, I will always carry some things with me. That part of myself that no one will ever know, my deepest thoughts, the deepest ‘me’.
Something that will forever be with me, all tucked in, contained in a box.
Since that day, Boxhead became the centre of my art practice. Let me share with you some highlights of the last 11 years.
After a while I moved back to Amsterdam. I joined some friends in the street art scene and started getting Boxhead out into the world. First with stickers and posters, then I eventually picked up the cans and started painting murals around town.
Canvas work came after and I had my first solo show at the cult art-toy gallery-store Outland.
Slowly Boxhead was getting recognised, people were collecting my work and I participated in more and more shows, festivals and events.
Eventually I decided I needed a change and moved to London, my home for the last 9 years.
I met some incredible artists in London, I got involved in the street art scene here. Painted a few large scale murals in town, had a few shows, collaborated with some other artists and landed a few commissions.
Soon I got picked up by Moniker Projects. My installation in their 2014 exhibition named “We Are All Boxhead” allowed me for the first time to experiment with digital mediums, I used live rendering to immerse the visitors in Boxhead’s world.
A few months later I was contacted by a curator from the States. She flew me to NYC to be part of the grand opening of the Rumney Guggenheim Gallery in Williamsburg.
Together with other female artists like Olek, Swoon and Lady Aiko, I exhibited my latest pieces inside the Weylin, one of the oldests buildings in NYC, which hosted Santiago Rumney Guggenheim’s gallery.
By this point my style had evolved greatly. The ‘box’ had become more of an abstract representation, it had started to extend beyond one single cube and my pallet started to be filled with gradients and pop colours.
As part of the show, I was commissioned to paint a 4 story mural right in front of the gallery.
This is my largest mural to date and it’s still standing in Williamsburg after 6 years. It has become a landmark for Brooklyn locals and those taking the L and M trains into Manhattan daily.
The next chapter for Boxhead was in Miami. I painted a large mural in Wynwood while having a show as part of Art Basel.
Things were picking up in the States, Pretty Lights invited me to New Orleans next.
He was releasing his new single “The Sun Spreads in Our Minds” during his surprise pop-up show on the last day of Jazz Fest. He commissioned me to paint a large mural that would be the backdrop for this show, arriving to it with a soundsytem mounted on a truck, after parading through the streets of New Orleands.
This experience is still one of the highlights of my career. Derek (Pretty Lights) and his team were incredibly generous, warm and welcoming. Truly some of the best people I’ve met on my travels.
Throughout the years, my style and the way I represent Boxhead has evolved greatly, I’ve always enjoyed experimenting with new mediums, from sculpting and art-toy to garments and animation.
Most recently I have immersed myself in what is probably the biggest medium shift, and in my opinion, what will be recognised in history as an art revolution: crypto art NFTs.
As part of this chapter I have been introducing more and more animation in my practice, both in 2D and 3D.
I feel extremely fortunate to have been invited to Foundation.app at the very early stages of the platform. I can’t wait to see what the future will bring and I’m excited to continue sharing with you how Boxhead evolves in this world.
My first piece I released as an NFT is ‘Breath In / Breath Out’. It was bought by Shantell Martin, one of my favourite artists. Being in her collection makes me incredibly proud and shows how this ‘new’ medium has truly made the art community tighter and dare I say better than ever.
I am extremely excited to see what the future brings and I hope you will follow me in this journey!
Thank you for being there.
Love, Box.