Throughout the entire process, a professional photographer accompanied us, diligently capturing the most significant moments. This photographic documentation will serve as valuable testimony, creating a comprehensive visual narrative of our work and the transformation that occurred during the project. It will authentically depict our interactions and achievements within the involved communities.
Through these relational and collaborative practices, my aim is to transform interpersonal dynamics among participants, ushering in a substantial shift in the power structure. This involves seeking a new centrality, or rather, the absence of exclusive centrality. In this approach, traditional artists and authors no longer monopolize artistic creation; instead, certain social groups become active and integral participants in the contemporary art landscape.
The project entails visiting three communities in Tlaxcala, where our initial goal is to gain an in-depth understanding of their context, connect with their residents, comprehend their concerns and needs, and grasp their community dynamics, along with their points of interest. Subsequently, an exchange of artistic techniques will take place. Local participants will share their skills in embroidery, ceramics, weaving, among other crafts, while I will contribute with the textile technique I employ in my work, based on "wrapping," which involves encasing recycled plastic bags with various fibers like yarn and fabric. The objective is to generate an artwork that seamlessly integrates both techniques, reflecting the cultural and social encounter we've experienced and expressing the unique voice of Tlaxcala's residents.
The benefits of this project encompass introducing transformative aesthetic experiences to diverse social groups, promoting aesthetics and creativity as essential aspects of individuals, embedding a visual language in participants, stimulating critical reflection and social transformation, and establishing spaces for contemplating gender identity across various social contexts. This project of cultural contact and exchange, in which both local participants and I gain cultural and artistic insights, serves as a rich source of diverse perspectives and ideas. This will lead us to generate situations of interaction, encoding, and transformation among the different participants, with the intention of fostering long-term relationships and collaborations.
The gatherings aligned with this relational approach will be based on the search for a meeting point from which we can engage in critical and alternative thinking. The collective nature of these encounters initially diminishes my individual authority as an artist, transforming us into a collective of shared knowledge, creating a horizontal recognition of the various voices involved.
These pieces actively engage with a variety of social groups and promote collaborations rather than mere presentation of static artworks. In this approach, the participants become active contributors to the artwork's development, directly contributing through experiences proposed by the artist.
The concept of a "collage of realities" aims to foster meaningful and transformative learning for all participants involved. Collaborative work on creating an artwork becomes the result of an affective relationship among the active participants in this creative process, promoting the idea of a cultural democracy that transcends traditional divisions between artist and spectator, as well as between the public and the private.Through these relational and collaborative practices, my aim is to transform interpersonal dynamics among participants, ushering in a substantial shift in the power structure. This involves seeking a new centrality, or rather, the absence of exclusive centrality. In this approach, traditional artists and authors no longer monopolize artistic creation; instead, certain social groups become active and integral participants in the contemporary art landscape.