Maria Jesus Contreras never considered herself an artist until someone said to her, “I really like your work“. Before, she saw art only as a hobby, capable of transporting it to unknown places, detaching it from reality.
It is impossible not to be impressed by the works of the Chilean illustrator, skillful with her colours and irony to break every perspective.

She claims to be mainly influenced by her memories of her complex childhood, which is why many of the works of art she creates today are based on Santiago’s reference films of the 1990s: Space Jam, The Parent Trap, Matilda or the original Jumanji.
“My drawings have always been a way to exteriorize internal images that scare me, to visualize them and get to know them.
Then I turn them into a composition and add colour so I can see them in perspective and they no longer just live inside me”.
She tries to visit the darkest parts of her personality every day, when she draws, a sort of catharsis occurs in her, releasing everything in her drawings.

But at the center of the illustrations are not only the memories of Maria Jesus Contreras, the Chilean illustrator is also known for her political battles. Recently, in fact, she has dedicated a series of works in support of the students of Santiago, who were protesting against the high prices in the city.
With the increase in participation, the protests have evolved to become a symbol of resistance against the high cost of living and inequality in Chile.
She designed several nice starter packs “to become a rebel“, but also more serious works that denounced the brutality with which the police attacked young students.

Everyone has their own struggles; political, social, emotional, existential, but the important thing is to face negative situations in a creative way, to give birth to something beautiful that we all have inside us.
Maria Jesus Contreras is an artist who is not intimidated by anything, but rather manages to transform her fear and worries into art.