Remembrance and Resistance
SOMArts Annual Day of the Dead Exhibition
October 6 - November 9, 2017
SOMArts
934 Brannan St, San Francisco, CA

Tejiendo la Vida de un Maya" ("Threading the Life of a Mayan") is the title of an altar in collaboration with Adriana Camarena and Jose Gongora Pat honoring the life of his brother Luis, killed by the SFPD in 2016. Both Luis and Jose are from a small village in Yucatan, Mexico. Women in their village have carried for generations the tradition of working with embroidery and textiles. Using the dichotomy text/textile, both with same origin, we used hand dyed threads to weave Luis' story, from his origins in Yucatan to his life as an immigrant in San Francisco. This non-traditional altar uses textile as the silent voice, as a metaphor for repressed or untold stories.

Adriana Camarena is a Mission District writer and researcher focused on social justice. More information about her work here

Carpet Diem is the title of a permanent carpet installation I created at the GO! office, downtown San Francisco. Its title points out to a new use of this recycled material. Over the last couple of weeks I hand cut 108 pieces of carpet that, following a geometric pattern, playfully engage with the almost 40' long office wall.

With my labyrinths I look for connection and interaction with the public, inviting them to wander along an alternative journey to the sometimes imposed urban layout. The same as the labyrinth proposes a new sacred territory for meditation and awareness, the geometric pattern of this carpet installation offer the public a powerful meditation tool. Geometric patterns, labyrinths or mandalas have taken me to travel around the world to places where I've witnessed the connection between these intricate constructions and ancient magical rituals.

Carpet Diem
37' x 10'
Carpet Tiles
Permanent Installation at GO!, downtown San Francisco

I am honored to have my work featured at Rebecca Solnit's most recent book, The Mother of All Questions. Six large format charcoal drawings from the series HairScapes are part of this follow-up to her national best seller Men Explain Things to Me. Using a combination of humor and profound insight, Solnit's new book ​offers indispensable commentary on women who refuse to be silenced, misogynistic violence, the fragile masculinity of the literary canon, the gender binary, the recent history of rape jokes, and much more. Feminism and femminity can empower each other and definitely The Mother of All Questions arrives at a crucial moment...

The Mother of All Questions
by Rebecca Solnit
​Published by Haymarket Books

Book Release, March, 2017
​Book available at Green Arcade

www.rebeccasolnit.net

​I see drawing as a form of connection with the space around me. When drawing and architecture coexist there’s no separation between the maker, the object and the viewer; between you and me. When this integration happens I see the world as an extension of who I am. Cavemen lived a fully shamanic experience of art and space, projecting onto the cave walls their own psyche. Drawing repetitive lines allows me to enter my subconscious mind and, like with Ariadne’s Thread, retrieve my most hidden secrets and bring them back to light.This is the game of life, a sutil thread that helps us to find our center in the labyrinths of our consciousness.

Last January 20th women from most of US states and around the world marched together in sisterhood to speak their truth and raise their voices. We walked, danced, sang and drummed! Our voices will be heard!

After a long day of drumming with my Maracatu fellows both in Oakland and San Francisco Women's Maches i met with my long time collaborator, artist Eliza Barrios, to do another guerrilla action in the street of San Francisco. We gather at our temporary office at Phil's Cafe on Market St in the evening. We divided our tasks and went out in the pouring rain to fill the newspaper stands with a message to the entire world: WE ARE POWERFUL. And yes, we are.

The Nomadic Labyrinth was featured at Art Night SF, last September 30th, at UN Plaza in San Francisco. Many people came and walked the labyrinth and it was also the place where world class flamenco dancer "Farruquito" led a flamenco flash mob. What an incredible opportunity I had to celebrate two of my passions, labyrinths and flamenco, at the same time!

Art Night SF is a collaboration between artists, galleries and local institutions to promote the arts in San Francisco and reactivate the Mid Market area. By bringing people together for an outdoor exhibition, Art Night SF hopes to celebrate the impact that cultural contributors are making within the city.

​Learn more about The Nomadic Labyrinth here

One of the most revealing parts about my trip to India was discovering the role that women have in the development of the cultural/spiritual/craft legacy. The same as in old generations of women in my own country, Spain, women are the ones weaving, knitting or stitching. In India they also use white lines made with chalk, rice paste or rice flour to "knit or write" in the floor of a street or the outside walls of their houses. These intricate mandala-like designs are called kolam in South India. In fact the word knitting/weaving - creating a textile, in Spanish tejer - have the same origin as the word text - texere in latin. It makes sense and makes me think how these women use artistic lines not only to intervene the public space and playfully affect the way we experience the architecture of their homes but as a way for self -expression that in some cases makes more sense than using words.

Lines, geometric patters and intricate forms are a big part of my work. Seeing these fierce women working with lines and creating "texts" inspires me to reflect about my own fascination and almost obsession with making likes and creating all these intricate paths either to be walked or contemplated.
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