My name is Edita R. Oca, founder and director of JATAFARATA, a workshop based in Santiago de Compostela since 2006. Even though I come from a family of artisans, my work here has more to do with my aesthetic education. I have a PhD in Fine Arts, a degree in Economics, and studies in Plastic Arts and Design, with a specialty in volume. Moreover, I continue to participate in courses and workshops about design and art. This academic training and process underlies my creation.
I work from the field of leatherwork and my concerns are focused on creation and design out of original ideas. I think about my objects from complex perspectives and I analyze every formal, functional, and aesthetic decision. This traditional style is fused with a contemporary perspective that allows me to turn my gaze towards the creation of fresh nuances in the craft, while adhering to important aspects such as quality, sustainability and, of course, aesthetic issues.
It is important for me to have the freedom to think outside the logic of the material, perhaps the reason why I simultaneously seek to test its limits. In my pieces I try to break the stereotypes marked by traditional norms and place an added focus on research and study, i.e., 1) making contributions both to different techniques in the trade itself and to new technologies, and to the possibilities of materials and forms, and 2) maintaining a running dialogue between concrete practices and conceptual work, where the use value and creative value of the products go hand in hand.
I have participated extensively in collective exhibitions and publications in the field of art and currently manage and curate for the cultural space Almáci-gas, integrated into the workshop itself.