
Melina Vera-Jaramillo (She/Her) is a Colombian-Peruvian multidisciplinary artist born and based in Tiohtià:ke/ Mooniyang/Montreal, Canada. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Fine Arts with a concentration in Photography from Concordia University. She has exhibited her works at the MAI in Montreal, VAV Gallery, FOFA gallery, POPOP Gallery, Gallery Parfois, and Product Rien.
Artist statement
My artistic practice is rooted in photography and expands into video, installation, and sculpture, often integrating archival materials and vernacular elements from South American culture. Shaped by my upbringing in Medellín, Colombia, my work explores and reimagines narratives surrounding identity, queerness, and traditional values. Through this lens, I aim to challenge dominant portrayals of Colombia, a nation often reduced to narcotrafficking and political conflict, by instead highlighting its resilience, ecological abundance, and the cultural wisdom embedded in everyday life. Central to my practice is an interest in oral history, experimental image-making, encompassing alternative photographic processes and material explorations that challenge conventional boundaries and open up new aesthetic and conceptual possibilities.