42 Years of Amate

During a stay in Mexico, the artist worked hand-in-hand with artisans from San Pablito in the northern part of Puebla to produce this large-scale work. San Pablito is known for its production of amate paper, a vegetal paper produced in an artisanal way, part of an ancestral tradition that can be traced back to the Preclassic period when it was used for codices and votive offerings. The artist, in collaboration with Otomí artisans, Juan Santos and his family, produced this work with four shades of bark that come from different trees, alluding to the risk of extinction of each tree in that region.

 

*Excerpt from the exhibition labels for TunState at Museo Jumex, Mexico City, 2023.

 

42 Years of Amate, 2023. Bark from jonote trees (Heliocarpus appendiculatus, Ficus cotinifolia, Ficus padifolia and Ficus petiolaris)