Meet Artist Vanessa Sotieles

Vanessa Sotillo Eléspuru (b. 1986, Lima, Peru), known as Vanessa Sotieles, is a Peruvian-Australian artist based in Canberra, Australia. Her work spans photography, digital art, painting, and mixed media, exploring themes of memory, nostalgia, and identity through dreamlike compositions.

She holds a Creative Photography Diploma from Página en Blando (Mexico, 2021), a Bachelor’s degree in Communication Sciences from the University of Lima (2011), and an Advertising Graphics Diploma from Toulouse Lautrec Institute (2007). In addition, she has undertaken various international workshops in Mexico and Spain to expand her creative practice.

Vanessa’s work has been exhibited in Mexico, Sydney, and Melbourne, with projects ranging from experimental photography, abstract paintings to public art interventions. Her artistic journey is one of constant exploration, blending the visible and the invisible to challenge perception and evoke emotion.

My work is an imperfect record of fleeting moments—a visual dialogue between reality and dreams, the tangible and the intangible. Through photography, digital art, painting and mixed media, I build narratives that transcend personal experience, inviting the viewer into an altered perception of time and space.

I am drawn to the themes of memory, nostalgia, and identity, questioning the boundaries between what is seen and what is felt. My creative process is rooted in experimentation and introspection, shaping images that blur the lines between subjective reality and imagined worlds.

For me, art is a continuous search and discovery—a way of engaging with the world, of reconstructing and redefining our relationship with the environment. Through layers of texture, color, and form, I seek to evoke a sense of familiarity and mystery, leaving space for personal interpretation and emotional resonance.