Monique Baques - Building Gender Balanced Business

www.moniquebaques.com

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina 36 years ago, I was raised in a conservative catholic family. When I was almost ten years old I changed schools, which meant I had a lot of spare time. My mother decided to enrol me in an art course to keep me entertained. It was the best decision she ever made for me! After school, I went on to university and got a first degree in fine arts.

I met my husband 17 years ago while he was studying to become a civil engineer. I knew from the beginning I would travel around the world and there would be plenty of life challenges to overcome, especially because I had lived most of my life in just one house.

It was by focusing on my work and looking for new ways of expressing my feelings that I grew stronger. I took part in some exhibitions and feeling deeply moved by the social situation in Argentina, I worked on the series “Desocupados” (The Unemployed).

Soon after getting married, I followed my husband to Chile where we stayed for almost four years, relocated five times and where my first child was born. At the beginning I found it quite difficult to abandon my “safe nest” and follow my husband in all his adventures. Being young and brave, I went along. Although I was unprepared for these challenges, I could appreciate the benefits in all this. I did a postgraduate course in art and sold some of my paintings. Chile is a wonderful place to live, I was in love and was having a great time, all of which is present in my work. The series “Parejas” (Couples) was the result of this period. All about love!

Later on, my husband quit his job, we sold our house and went all the way to France, with my one-year-old daughter and two bags so that he could do an MBA course. We lived in a lovely house in the countryside near Fontainebleau. Soon after, my second child was born. I was really happy because my lifelong dream of living in France had become true. I met wonderful people, made really good friends and had the opportunity to work part-time. It was a marvellous time! The forest in Fontainebleau is amazingly beautiful! I felt so inspired that I worked on the series “Feelings”, which reflected the deepest secrets of my soul. I experimented with new techniques and a new combination of colours which made my paintings quite vivid.

A year later, my husband was offered a job in The Netherlands, so we relocated again! This time life was a little more difficult. He was travelling a lot, my kids were small, sick almost all the time, the house was tiny and it became very expensive to hire a babysitter or cleaning lady. Without much time to work, and quite busy with the kids, I was unwilling to make new friends. Even though life became harder, I still managed to put together an exhibition, sell some paintings and do a stone sculpture course. I was unaware of how sad I was, but looking back, I can now see how depressed, frustrated and lonely I felt. Like a mirror, my paintings revealed once again the inner workings of my mind. My palette turned darker, the colours blueish. And the subjects were almost all sad and negative. The long and cold winters had a huge impact on me.
Three years later, we moved to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The weather, the people and the bright green scenery around me delighted me. The jungle, what a jungle! Under this spell I put together my first exhibition in Asia. Once again I fell in love with life. My paintings showed bright colours, lush vegetation, flowers and Chinese patterns. I felt happy, had time to work, made new friends and got pregnant again with my third child. Life was perfect!

But life is all about changes… Soon a new challenge knocked on my door. My husband was sent away to spend five weeks at work abroad and would come back to spend four weeks with us at home. A completely new lifestyle! I was afraid of losing the inner balance I had achieved. I was afraid of not being able to work, and of being a full-time mum. I struggled. I told myself I had to take advantage of this situation and find my way again. I made small trips to Thailand, Cambodia and Japan, which transformed me. Becoming more flexible, I felt more secure and free. Magically, I bloomed. I transformed like the larva does to become a butterfly, and all these new feelings radically changed my paintings! New colours, original compositions and different techniques invaded my work. I managed to set up the second exhibition and finally have my own atelier!

When I was younger, I felt totally scared of changes. Today, I realize how important changes are. I could never paint the way I do today, if I hadn’t had the chance to relocate so often. Life is pure change and whether I have agreed to go with the flow or rejected the idea has had a tremendous impact on my happiness and my work.