The following pieces were showcased as part of Sofía Reeser del Río’s ongoing curatorial project Localidad Alterna/Alternate Location III for MECANISMOS, Meca Art Fair, San Juan, PR– November 21-24, 2019.

Installation presented along Frances Gallardo‘s work, as seen in last image.

The works of two emerging contemporary artists, Frances Gallardo and Zaida Adriana Goveo Balmaseda, both from Puerto Rico, are the axis of Alternate Location’s 3rd iteration titled ECO-logics. With distinct approaches, these artists’ work meet through their queries about the nature of human impact on Earth’s various ecologies.

Sofía Reeser del Río

For MECANISMOS, I shared a series of mid-size and small studies that explore the wheel of energies of life and how all living beings are interconnected through their inner and outer worlds, the visible and the invisible. In an effort to continue my practice of more consciously/intimately relating to the landscape that surrounds me, I foraged local ‘wild’ plants which are often considered ‘weeds’ and used them in different ways (sometimes minimally processed, sometimes making ‘paper’ with the leftover pulp/remnants of the other proceses) and combined them with recycled fibers also collected from within my community(ies). With movements inspired by traditional hand-work techniques, these slow weavings are portals or energy centers that prompt us to reflect how we can cultivate more symbiotic relationships.

And here, a great article By Sebastián Meltz-Collazo for Garage Magazine: At MECA Art Fair, A Feeling of Coming Together.

I am grateful for Steve Maldonado Silvestrini’s generous sharing of knowledge, time, and company at the Herbario de la UPR, and a scouting trip from San Juan to Arecibo.