My artistic work is closely related to a decentering of the human and how this allows us to rethink the ways in which we feel and live. On the other hand, the different materials and forms with which I work frequently lead me to reflect on the practical and symbolic use we make of what we create from what we call nature.
Working with clay and being able to create thousands of forms from water, earth, and fire, led me to think about the natural-cultural transitions our ancestors had to make when building worlds. And on the human use of matter and the bodies of other beings for their existence. For example, in the use of the dried bodies of gourds as water vessels one can see how the gourd plant would be recognized as necessary for sustenance and for making life. In the use of earth, water and fire to make clay pots, one can see how earth, water and fire would be recognized as central to the making of technologies for life. So at what point do these recognitions break down? At what point does this explicit acknowledgement becomes esoteric and animistic?
I speculate that there are many processes that contribute to this break. One of them could be that the moment when one can no longer be a direct witness to the creation of crafts is that the possibility of thinking of “objects” emerges, as things that are created for one's need. And so takes place the negation of the central role of other species in the creation of what we call objects, technology, etc.
And yet, there is no art form that does not require the cosmos for its manifestation. And so, the emergence of an art that differs from craftsmanship that takes place in modernity is the condensation of that process.
But I also think that is why it is central that the way we think about the arts has to do with co-laboring and taking part of these processes and not simply as spectators. Where the artist guides processes that remind us of our connection to the cosmos.
But I also think that is why it is central that the way we think about the arts has to do with co-laboring and taking part of these processes and not simply as spectators. Where the artist guides processes that remind us of our connection to the cosmos.
It is easy to deduce that a similar process takes place with food. That is, the emergence of a notion of food as a food substance to be consumed outside of relations of reciprocity and responsibility with the beings from which it comes. This perspective necessarily requires an isolation from the work of caring for the land. And if this is true, then transforming our food system requires reconnecting with the work of knowing and caring for the plants we need to survive.
From: Imayna Caceres. "The role of other species in the creation of what we call objects". 5 Apr. 2024.
From: Imayna Caceres. "The role of other species in the creation of what we call objects". 5 Apr. 2024.