The following article appeared in TLC:
intenciones llenas de gracia
In January and February of 2010, I had the fortunate opportunity to receive an artist residency at the El Hayelo centre in Villa de Leyva, Boyaca, Colombia. How can I put into words the impression this beautiful and majestic place made upon me, both as an artist and person?
Colombia speaks to me of colour and life; alive with natural pigments and materials, deep with roots of myth and history. Some time ago, in a dream, I saw aqua blue waters set next to ochre desert sands. For months, I have been searching for that place. I found it in Villa de Leyva.
Here, time stands still. The town was founded in 1572 and looks now very much as it did then. It is preserved in its entirety and virtually no modern architecture exists. The streets, in Spanish style, are still cobble stoned and the walls whitewashed. It is located in a high altitude valley, where fossils from the ancient ocean floor have been preserved in the desert landscape. The village is framed by a branch of the Andes. Santuario De Iguaque can be reached within a day's walk. Santuario is the creation lake of the indigenous, Muisca.
The focus of my residency was to produce a series of multi-media works and to research the group process through site-specific installation work, (a concept I began to develop in my final year at TLC). The work seeks to bridge a connection between people and the environment, the development of environmental compassion through direct experience, and the facilitation of the group process in artistic acts offering gratitude to the land.
In the production of the installation work, I had the fortunate opportunity to work with Colombian artist, Catalina Garcina, who brought a new fluidity and expressionistic quality to the work. We scouted a site for the installation and found Villa de Leyva to be the perfect setting to shift the work from the previous gallery-based spaces, to the site-specific outdoor environment. I was mystified to realise the exact setting of a dream I had experienced some 12 months earlier. A desert scape surrounding the aqua-blue lakes of the natural phenomena “Agua Azul”. Several days were spent gathering materials around the local area. It was hard to move our noses off the ground, the land was so vibrant with pigment. The area is a geological paradise.
At sunrise, on the day of the installation, Catalina and I began our artistic expression of gratitude to the land. We worked with the desert purples, pinks and fire ochres. We discovered the remnants of a fire by the lake. We gathered the charcoal, whose blackness articulated the depth of the universe. Maize represented the culture of the Andes. Wheat flour was utilized for the white pigment. Later we discovered its true significance. The land had once been used to grow wheat, but could no longer sustain it. So that memory was upheld for the land.
As the work and day drew to a close, toward that special hour of light, a group of local artists and writers came to participate in the completion of the work. The group response was powerful. Songs were sung, words of prayers spoken for the land and people of Colombia. The work was validated and integrated into the land.
After spending the prior 6 months in Mexico, visiting ancient Maya sites, partaking in indigenous ceremonies and traveling by horse back across the state of Oaxaca on an environmental project (see www.nomadsunited.com) and with a wealth of experience to draw upon, I was itching to get into the studio.
During the residency I produced a series of multi-media sketches, weaving themes of horses and Danza de la Luna (ceremonial dance of the moon) into landscapes of the Colombian Andes.
My experience at the El Hayelo residency was extremely positive. The residency's support enabled me to organise a successful project in a country with many social and cultural differences. My heart was truly warmed by the reception I received. I feel compelled to mention that putting on an exhibition can be challenging enough at the best of times, try organising a show in a foreign language; it's hilarious!
An exhibition of my work was hosted by the historic Casa Museo Antonia Narino Museum. It was titled, “Intenciones llenas de gracia, desde la fe hacia el siguiente paso”, (Intensions of grace, from one leap of faith to the next.). The show featured the multi-media sketches, photo documentation of the desert installation and an on-site installation. The response to the work was from the heart. Being featured in the museum gave the work great accessibility to the community. It was a deeply fulfilling experience and an amazing opportunity to develop my work.
I now have a new project underway, entitled Sacra Tierra Project. The objective is to continue the development of land-based installation art and facilitate the collective responsibility and awareness of caring for the land we walk upon.