2021-2022
This series of copper works considers produce’s global origins and mobility across political and social borders, serving as a symbolic manifestation of human migratory patterns. Just as bodies move across both natural and political boundaries, the exchange of produce items—such as cacao (originally from Central and South America but now cultivated in Africa) and coffee (originating in Ethiopia but now grown in Central and South America)—introduces these items to new regions. This leads to the cultivation of hybrid varieties, due to acclimatization and cross-pollination. The foods and the recipes they inspire reflect their respective origins, with their physical journeys continuing through global trade routes where they are bought and sold across national borders.
In these works, Amézquita considers specific produce and recipes that highlight this history of movement, adaptation and cultural hybridization, using particularly traditional Latin American food items that trace back to North, Central, and South American origins. To create the work, she constructs micro-ecosystems on copper sheets using plastic single-use food containers interconnected with straws on which the food items are placed and allowed to decay over time. During decay, the food items break down and ferment, fostering an environment in which other life forms can generate and flourish. Simultaneously, the copper sheets molecularly react to this process, becoming an archaeological palimpsest tracing the life cycle of the produce and a symbol of cross-pollination, integration, and adaptation.
4/17 First Cycle
5/17 First Cycle
10/17 First Cycle
beyond the limits of confinement, 2021-2022
gestures 12/17 third cycle, 9/17 third cycle, and 1/17 third cycle.
Produce from the Americas. Incubated between four to nine months on copper.
12 x 53”
beyond the limits of confinement, 2021-2022
gestures 12/17 first cycle, 15/17 third cycle, and 17/17 third cycle.
Produce from the Americas. Incubated between four to nine months on copper.
12 x 53”
beyond the limits of confinement, 2021-2022
gestures 7/17 first cycle, 9/17 second cycle, and 3/17 first cycle.
Produce from the Americas. Incubated between four to nine months on copper.
12 x 53”