[Un- ravelling/earthing], expo at CDMX in Mexico!

[Un- ravelling/earthing] is part of a bigger project, that began as I opted to be a member of the Global Hybrid Queeratorial Experimental Project, with the Mexican duo Tony Macarena, Queer arts curators, designers, and artists. Our global experience project started in Summer 2023, as me and other students from OCAD U (Ontario College of Art & Design University) participated in a 9-month hybrid seminar that included an expo at Stackt Market during Pride Toronto 2023 (last image to the right), followed up with an online monthly meetings component, and a travel component to Ciudad de México for ARTWEEK in February 2024. This project was also sponsored by: The Jack Weinbaum Family Foundation Global Experience Project, and I would like to thank Carol Weinbaum for this amazing opportunity provided to us, to me. I would like also to thank Melanie Billark and Jennie Suddick from OCAD U for the amazing support, care and supervision, and Tony Macarena (Lorena Canales and Alejandro Olávarri) for the mentorship and their work in allowing me (us) to growth, unlearn, and be more critical about plants and us. Thanks to all of you again!

The project component in Mexico City included the exposition of our works in, 𝙻𝙰 𝙾𝙱𝚁𝙰 𝙴𝚂 𝙳𝙴 𝚀𝚄𝙸𝙴𝙽 𝙻𝙰 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙽𝚃𝙰 -𝙰 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝙽𝚃’𝚂 𝙾𝙴𝚄𝚅𝚁𝙴 - A pop-up group show about plants, agency and the Anthropocene at JXTX on 07-02-2024 and participation in multiple cultural events in CDMX. The expo focused on presenting pieces that evidentiate ways in which art and design can give agency to plants, in the complex anthropocene time we are living in. 

My piece [Un- ravelling/earthing], is an interactive fiction videogame built in Twine, that focused on giving agency to the Bougainvillea plant species by narrating its genuine story and unraveling the truths from the fictions fabricated by humans, focusing on the aspect of how human propagation have ended up creating multiple autosterile cultivars while prompting participants to “translate” the plant’s “words”. The piece itself consisted of:

- Four exemplars of the plant
- QR poster that lead to the game experience, published in itch.io.
- A poster of the tittle of the piece and a brief intro
- Pen and paper notes to collect messages 
- Metallic grids to support the different elements.

After and while interacting with the piece, participants are encouraged to leave a message, and act as the plant "translators". They would write in paper notes messages and post them in a sideral metallic grid: the notes collection in the grid next to the plants would create a mural ensemble of multiple human voices echoing the plant's truths. The compilation of these messages is after uploaded in the digital experience, so that others would learn what was "spoken" by the plant on that day.