Bella Cardim
Bella Cardim is a Brazilian-born, Miami-based multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of emotional hunger, body image, and societal expectations. Transitioning from a career in food photography to conceptual art, she delves into the complex relationships we have with nourishment, indulgence, and self-worth. Through a mix of familiar materials and intimate symbols, Bella’s work reflects her personal journey with emotional eating and cultural beauty standards, inviting viewers to confront their own stories. Her art serves as both a mirror and a conversation starter, addressing the silent pressures that shape our identities and challenging the norms around self-image and fulfillment.
Collect Bean: What role does art play in society, and how does your work contribute to that?
Bella Cardim: Art has the unique power to connect us to complex, often hidden parts of ourselves and to broader societal conversations. In my practice, I aim to bring awareness to themes of emotional eating, body image, and the societal pressures that shape our relationships with food. By addressing these personal yet universal issues, my work invites viewers to confront and reflect on their emotional narratives, making the invisible visible. Art serves as a mirror and a bridge, facilitating an honest exploration of cultural and personal identity.
Collect Bean: Are there any recurring themes or motifs in your art, and if so, what do they represent to you?
Bella Cardim: Recurring themes in my work include emotional hunger, confinement, and the duality of nourishment versus indulgence. These motifs are often represented through familiar materials and symbols, like family recipes or embroidered phrases from my childhood. They reflect my personal journey with food, family expectations, and body image, serving as metaphors for the pressures we all face regarding how we present ourselves to the world.
Collect Bean: Are there any artists or movements that have inspired or influenced your work?
Bella Cardim: My practice is deeply inspired by the conceptual and emotional intensity of artists like Louise Bourgeois, who used her art to explore memory, family, and identity, and the Arte Povera movement, which embraced everyday materials to challenge consumerist culture. Additionally, I am influenced by the work of Sophie Calle, whose explorations of personal narrative, vulnerability, and the boundaries of intimacy resonate with my artistic inquiry into food, familial expectations, and emotional well-being. These influences align with my focus on the every day—how food and family shape both personal and collective identity.
Collect Bean: How do you see your artwork fitting into the larger art world or art history?
Bella Cardim: My work contributes to ongoing discussions within contemporary art about identity, body image, and mental health, particularly as they intersect with societal expectations. By examining the psychology behind our relationship with food and physical appearance, I aim to create a dialogue around self-acceptance and emotional well-being. I see my work as a continuation of a narrative in art history that challenges traditional standards and exposes the deeply personal in the universal.
Collect Bean: How does where you grew up influence your work?
Bella Cardim: Growing up in Rio de Janeiro, I experienced a duality of vibrant cultural beauty alongside intense societal pressures for an "ideal" body image, especially in beach culture. This environment profoundly influenced my relationship with food, body image, and self-worth, all of which now form the foundation of my work. The warmth and expressiveness of Rio’s people shaped my personality, while the weight of these expectations fueled my need to use art as a means of healing and self-acceptance.
