JÔNATAS CHIMEN
DIAS DASILVA-BENAYON
FILM, 3D, 2D PORTFOLIO
Jônatas Chimen Dias DaSilva-Benayon, orsimply "Jônatas," is a Brazilian-AmericanSymbolist artist, author, academic, and publicspeaker. His work explores personal andcollective identity amidst an ever-changingcultural landscape. The artist's exploration ofidentity is often drawn from his own family'shistory of migration, adaptation, and culturalhybridization.
Jônatas' art is process-based, ranging intechnique from traditional Spanish Realism tomultimedia approaches in Film, 2D, and 3Dformats. The artist often makes use ofpastiches of immigration documents, DNAexams, family Inquisitional archives, and
diaries.
Jônatas has an active art practice, and forclose to 20 years he has been featured atvarious museums, galleries, biennales, andauctions. The artist is the founder of the JadaArt Movement, a contemporary artmovement that seeks to expand thevocabulary on Metamodernism.
Jônatas holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree inLatin American, Caribbean, and IberianStudies from The University of Madison-Wisconsin, and a Master of Fine Arts Degreefrom Florida International University.
www.theartofjonatas.com
SHORT FILMS
(Covid-19 Related) 2016
SHORT FILMS- COVID-19 RELATED -
42016
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2avlNEa-O_8
INTERNAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE PARISIAN LOCKDOWN
52016
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylelYHvZ2xA
TRAVELER (IN TIMES OF PANDEMIC)
LINK; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcY3sMLNoZQ&list=PLGoN_DWe1-pQWxLKougQzHNSPzybV2iXi&index=1
62016
MODERNISM, POST-MODERNISM, AND METAMODERNISM (UNLEASHED BY COVID-19)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYrphba57Co
72016
2020 POTENTIAL (QUARANTINE ART)
82016
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSNVWHq_sww
PERFORMING THE NEW NORMAL
SHORT FILMS(Various Themes)
3
4
THE DIASPORA CREATURE
I NEVER MEANT TO MIGRATE
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j495OLjnGso
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7ovIbcPq2g
A PAINTER AND A BALLERINA
BABA YAGA
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-L_BIh_HA0
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWhGKzm045k&feature=youtu.be
I STAYED WAITING FOR THE SHIPS, SINCE 1492
IN THY TENT I DWELL- Multimedia Installation -
In Thy Tent I Dwell is a mixed-media installation
debuted at the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum
in Miami, Florida. This artwork reveals a 500-year
history of migration and identity fluidity in the artist’s
family. Foregoing a linear narrative and the certainty
often ascribed to photographs and official
documents, Jônatas has instead produced a multi-
sensory experience of “nostalgia”.
The artist partially accomplishes this experience
through the photo transferring of family photographs,
birth certificates, and immigration documents onto
the outside of a tent-like structure.
In addition, voices, chanting, folk music, and sounds
found in the domestic sphere – emanate from the
structure’s interior, as do faint smells of spices – a nod
to the artist’s family role in trade and thereby
migration.
See here the 2019 manifestation of In Thy Tent I
Dwell:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRAoqMSaAk8
THE DIASPORA CREATURETHE FEDEXILE SERIES- Site Specific Installation -
FedExile is an ongoing series thatfeatures figurative depictions inchiaroscuro of first- and second-generation immigrants painted onused FedEx boxes. When exhibited,the boxes collectively become onesite-specific installation. The boxesare often shipped around the globe,unprotected and exposed to harm.This series aims to spark aconversation on the effects ofimmigration and its current crisis inthe West.
Fedexile Box TowerOil on Used Fedex Boxes
Return to SenderOil on Used Fedex Box, 12” x 17”
Know ThyselfOil on Used Fedex Box
50” x 37”
Prima, Where Have You Been?Oil on Used Fedex Box, 12” x 17”
Yanomami MonalisaOil on Used Fedex Box, 12” x 17”
THE DIASPORA CREATURE
THE DIASPORA CREATURE5 MADONAS IN EXILE
- Multimedia Installation-
5 Madonnas in Exile is amultimedia, audience-participatory,and site-specific exhibit that aims tohighlight the plight of immigrantsand asylum seekers through asymbolic and multidimensionallanguage. Here, Jônatas drawsparallels between his family's longhistory of immigration, the role thatspecific women have played inkeeping the family together, and thecurrent global immigration crisis
THE DIASPORA CREATURE
THE DIASPORA CREATURETHE NEW NORMAL
(Oil on Canvas)
The New Normal Series isJônatas’ speculation about what the “NewNormal” will look like at the conceptual level.
In this art series, the artist anticipates that the NewNormal will be intrinsically more feminine, andwith that, more human.
It is the artist’s belief that this new decade willembrace attributes typically attributed to women,such as intuitiveness, selflessness, a caring heart,and a deeper mind.
Her Majesty48” x 48”
Oil on Canvas
Wake Up to the New NormalOil on Canvas, 36” x 80”
The Savior Will be a WomanOil on Canvas, 36” x 80”
Amazingly ImmersiveOil on Canvas, 36” x 48”
THE DIASPORA CREATURE
3
4
2014
THE DIASPORA CREATURE
The Diaspora Creature series is Jônatas’ mostintrospective memoir-style chronicle about hiscompulsive migrant legacy. This series speaks ofa history of continuous migration and the powerof adaptation. When looking at this collection, awell-known motto comes to mind; Dum spiro,spero – While I breath, I hope!
Creature #2Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #1Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #4Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #3Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #6Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #5Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #8Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #7Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #10Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #9Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
2014
Creature #12Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #11Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #14Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #13Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #16Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #15Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #18Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” 24”
Creature #17Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #20Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
Creature #19Mixed Media on Wood Panel, 16” x 24”
THE EXILE ARCHETYPES
(Aluminum Sculptures)
4
6
The Exile Archetypes Series is a cast aluminumcollection composed of 9 life-size sculpturalpieces, which features annihilation throughassimilation and hybridization. This collectionportrays technology as a symbol of constantinterference throughout modern existence. Thissculpture series narrates the process ofassimilation and disconnection which affectsmuch of today’s society.
VARIOUS OTHER WORKS
(Commissions and
Sketches)
2016
ART OF VARIOUS THEMES
MikaelOil on Canvas, 31” x 46”
Recontextualizing Dreams IOil on Canvas, 5’ x 9’
Recontextualizing Dreams IIOil on Canvas, 5’ x 9’
Recontextualizing Dreams IIIOil on Canvas, 5’ x 9’