Literally blood and sweat. Mark Turbolencia shares what brings him tranquility and fulfillment–his art–his true wealth and luxury.
Turbolencia is a body fluid artist whose medium is unconventional though not entirely new. During his college days, he experimented with blood with the help of his sister who was a medical student. Not surprisingly, this is the medium in most of his pieces, and throughout time, he incorporated the use of yarn as a symbol of tranquility and an homage to his grandmother and her sewing machine.
So how did art become his true wealth and luxury?
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According to Turbolencia, the definition of true wealth is something that has significant value for you. As for him, his true wealth is his love for art: “I love art in the sense that I give more effort into it than everybody else.” He also shares that art is for everyone, yet only a few people give effort into it. For him, though, this is something he would gladly give his 100 percent to every single day.
Like any other kid, he started drawing stick figures until he finally developed different kinds of art like painting and using body fluids, including his own blood. He wanted to emphasize that art is a skill and not a talent and he feels discredited when people compliment him as a “talented” person because for him, this is not innate, it’s something he continues to put effort into every day and with these efforts, he grew from drawing stick figures to actually painting with the use of blood as his medium: “I can’t think of any medium that I will enjoy now, so as long as I am alive, I will forever try to paint with my own blood.”
Does he have a model artist? Turbolencia says he does not, but his pieces are mostly inspired by different people. “My art is a compilation of every artist [whom] I admire. There is no specific one.” As for his second-favorite medium, yarn, he says it brings him peace, relaxation, and fulfillment to know that every time he uses yarn, he always thinks of his grandmother.
For him, it feels good to be known because your advocacies expressed artistically will also be accessible to many people. The message of the advocacy, however, is more important than the fame it brings. After all, he’s a self-confessed introvert who’s happy to simply know that there are people who like his work.
Banner Photo via Instagram @mark_turbolencia.
