Yuméweuš 1 - New Earthworks, 2022, Arizona State University Art Museum
Hydroponics Tower, Lights, Pump, Nutrients, Local Amaranth Seed, Water, Time; Colored Sand, Text Projection. 2022
Yuméweuš is derived from the words: you, me, we, us. The use of the words "you," "me," "we," and "us" suggesting that the installation explores themes of relationships, community, and togetherness.
The work is a living installation, the cyclical story playing out through the life of amaranth (Komo, Hopi Red Dye) growing in a hydroponic system. The hydroponics tower evokes a theatrical totem, a utilitarian object amplified in height, pushing upward toward the feeling of endless verticality; like Constantin Brâncuși's, Endless Column, except the grow lights give the object a softer on the edge.
The object in its arraignment feel strangely utopian, like an imagined future where the intersections of indigenous forms for ceremony are no longer the medicine tools of prayer and song but are now mediating the transmuted expressions of science. For example, the sand painting or dry painting of the chemical compound of amaranth is the design that repeats around the tower base. The origin of sand paintings in Navajo/Diné culture is rooted in healing and bringing harmony back to the world. This version does not represent anything sacred, or even Pan-Indian in design, but implies the notion of healing and resilience, perhaps for a broader community.
The other component in this installation is a video projection of text projected on a nearby wall. The projection is a reorganized land acknowledgments that have been created by local organizations (site & regionally specific), who are currently acknowledging tribal communities of the area. The projection represents the ongoing discourse of land acknowledgments that numerous organizations strive to convey, often using the same ideas and language in how they are representing the native/indigenous people but worded slightly differently. The projection component represents the metaphor of this complication in language, and intention, and is never a completely accurate, finished, or unified message because it is constantly changing.
Tower components provided in-kind by Lettuce Grow, the creators of the Farmstand.
Yuméweuš 2 - Arvada Center Arvada, Colorado 2023
Yuméweuš 2 is a living and dynamic piece, with the story of the work unfolding and evolving over time through the growth of the edible plants, dianthus, and a viola mix, which were cultivated in a hydroponic system. The plants serve as a central element of the installation, and their life cycles and growth contribute to the overall narrative and message of the piece. The use of a hydroponic system to grow the plants adds an additional layer of meaning, as it highlights the ways in which technology and human intervention can impact and shape the natural world. Overall, the living installation creates a unique and immersive experience for viewers.
The use of the sand painting technique, which has roots in Navajo (Diné) culture, and adds a cultural layer to the piece and invites viewers to consider the connections between art, culture, science/technology, and healing. By using the chemical compound for dopamine as the subject of the sand painting, I hope to bring in a scientific element, inviting viewers to consider the role of chemistry in the human body and in emotions such as pleasure and well-being. The repetition of the design around the hydroponic tower additionally adds to the overall theme of cycles and growth.