Esther Moe has loved creating since a young age, “As soon as I could hold a pencil really”. Esther lives on the border of Spain in Galicia, where she told me she lives only 15 minutes away from Vila Nova de Cerveira, “I can see Portugal from my window”. Esther explained that she has lived in Spain since 1996 following buying a one-way ticket after her A-levels and that she fell in love with Spain. “The people are passionate, expressive and I just warmed to that immediately.”


Solo exhibition

Most recently Esther has been exhibiting her work in Portugal, with her first solo exhibition that finished in July at the Gallery at Cine Teatro João Verde in Monção in Viana do Castelo. Titled “Ars Gratia Maris: Reimagining the Great Masters in Homage to the Underwater Kingdom”, Esther took famous works of art and made the sea and its creatures the principal subject, for example, Mona Lisa with the head of Codfish (which I must admit was brilliant and is actually the piece that grabbed my attention and led to our interview). Esther explained that the oil on wood piece was created “In honour of the national fish of Portugal and the enigmatic cod I met at the Oceanario de Lisboa. We stared at each other for ages through the glass”.


Following this fantastic exhibition, Esther took part in an international competition with the title being the natural elements. Esther was one of the artists selected to exhibit at the International Contemporary Art Exhibition ‘Art’in Lima’ in Ponte de Lima in which she expressed that “I was lucky that I already had a painting that fit perfectly with the brief. Adding that artworks are scattered around the towns most prominent historical buildings so it is a nice way to combine art and architecture. Esther’s painting ‘Tempestuous Elements’ is located at the Museu dos Terceiros until the 25 September so definitely give it a visit if you are in the north of Portugal.

When asked what her next step was, Esther revealed she has been focusing on a big international competition called Art for Change with the title of equality.


Connection with sea life

I asked Esther why she incorporates sea life so much in her work and she explained: “I am vegetarian and when I lived in Galicia it was almost impossible to maintain, that was about 10 years ago, where there was nothing so I started eating fish and meat again but then going to the fish mongers, waiting in line with your number and staring at the fish and seeing the expressions of their face so I stopped eating fish and started painting them instead.”

“I want people to think about it when they have this fish on their plate, appreciate life and the life it had.”

“I want to share these thoughts so I choose to articulate them visually, without the limitations of language. Translated into colour and composition I am persuading the viewer to listen to an image that silently has something to say. Art for me is about sharing my imagination with others at the same time as revealing who I am and what concerns me.”


“My message is clear but never too obvious. You could say I prefer to hide it in plain sight. For example, the image of two octopuses embracing on a coral reef under a moonlit sea inside a halo of gold presented as a reimagining of Klimt’s The Kiss is a delightful scene indeed, but really, I’m commenting on animal intelligence and ocean conservation. My challenge is to avoid resorting to shock tactics. I want to bring the viewer around to my ideas not frighten them away, although if I turn a few people off eating octopus I’m not complaining.”

“If I don’t create, I am not alive, that’s how it feels. Even if I am cooking dinner and the way I lay it out on trays.”


I am thinking about virtual exhibitions so everyone can go / virtual online exhibition and reach so many more people and they can go any time of day that they want. I think that is the future.

If you would like to buy any of Esther Moe’s beautiful prints, please visit https://www.saatchiart.com/esthermoe or are interested in any commissions please email the artist at estmoeb@gmail.com. Additionally, if you are a sea life enthusiast please do visit her Instagram page where you can see fantastic examples of her work @esther_moe_art.



Author

Following undertaking her university degree in English with American Literature in the UK, Cristina da Costa Brookes moved back to Portugal to pursue a career in Journalism, where she has worked at The Portugal News for 3 years. Cristina’s passion lies with Arts & Culture as well as sharing all important community-related news.

Cristina da Costa Brookes