Art News & Features

Melissa Murillo Makes Whimsical, Creature-Filled Dreamscapes

Vee Hua 華婷婷1 min readJanuary 20, 2009Add comment

Based in Berlin, we first found out about Melissa Murillo on MySpace. Her drawings make it quite obvious that Murillo is an absolute stickler for details, and that lack of color doesn’t take anything away from her images. The drawing above is a world in itself, and although the size makes it different to see all the details, birds, vines, eyes, totems, flowers, and creatures of all kinds are pouring out of the amorphous mass. Growing up in a family with a violent father, Murillo took solace in worlds of fantasy and dreams, and her inventive multi-layered drawings make that seem relationship come to life.

www.myspace.com/meyoko

Tagged asblack and white drawing dreams fantastical german artists and musicians intricate melissa murillo nature

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Vee Hua 華婷婷

Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and organizer with semi-nomadic tendencies. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE, Interim Managing Editor of South Seattle Emerald, and Co-Chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. They also previously served as the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a key role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences.

Vee has two narrative short films. Searching Skies (2017) touches on Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States; with it, they helped co-organize The Seventh Art Stand, a national film and civil rights discussion series against Islamophobia. Reckless Spirits (2022) is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy for a bleak new era, in anticipation of a feature-length project.

Vee is passionate about cultural space, the environment, and finding ways to covertly and overtly disrupt oppressive structures. They also regularly share observational human stories through their storytelling newsletter, RAMBLIN’ WITH VEE!, and are pursuing a Master’s in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship under the Native American Studies Department at the University of Minnesota.

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