Craft Contemporary: Beatriz Cortez & Rafa Esparza, Nomad 13

 
 
 

I’m happy to share some photos I shot last month for Craft Contemporary of Beatriz & Rafa’s collaborative installation, Nomad 13, on view now through May 12th, 2019!

Los Angeles-based artists Beatriz Cortez and Rafa Esparza present the collaborative installation, Nomad 13 in the museum’s first floor. Taking the form of an unconventional space capsule built from adobe bricks and steel, the structure houses a garden of plants that are indigenous to the Americas and were cultivated by the Inca, Maya, and Aztec civilizations. The garden refers to a long history of plant migration, as well as the knowledge and technological advances of ancient peoples. In symbolically “launching” these plants into the cosmos, the artists evoke the real ongoing experiments of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to grow food in outer space. However, with Nomad 13 the artists envision the growth of fresh food in space for the survival of indigenous knowledge and to nourish future space travelers.

This project was supported, in part, by a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.

 
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