visual artist
DEEP AND DEVASTATING SILENCE
by Cecilia Medina
When Morton Hilbert proposed to carry out the Human Ecology Symposium to give visibility to the scientists who warned about the effects that the deterioration of the environment produced on human health, the scenario was very different from the one we inhabit today.
When Rachel Carson presented her book Silent Spring and put the agrochemical industry in check by pointing out the damage they cause to humans and their impact on nature, the situation of the space we inhabit was not like the current one.
Scientists and politicians have spent more than half a century announcing what is happening today and what will happen in the coming decades, however, humanity continues to grow with a growing attitude of consumerism and disinterest in the environment.
In an essay published in The New Yorker in 1989, William McKibben pointed out that "...the chemistry of the atmosphere may be an abstraction or a text written in a foreign language...but its translation into the climate of a city will make us notice the how the life of each one of us will change”. Theories about these effects and global warming date back to the 1957 investigations of oceanographers Roger Revelle and Hans Suess. According to KcKibben, the studies carried out by both from California allow us to verify the signals that the ocean gave them then.
Fortunately, artistic expressions have another way of presenting us with this sum of concepts that scientists have shared for decades through articles, essays and books.
Sebastiao Salgado's photographs portray the greatest human atrocities: the exploitation of man by man, deforestation and mining exploration. Also in his travels he has documented the most exotic places on the planet: flowers, rivers, mountains, tribes, fauna, everything he has seen in more than one hundred countries has been printed in black and white images that testify to the same as scientists. they affirm. Each of these images are warning signs about what is happening here on Earth.
Signals that we find cited in the Gaia Theory -developed by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis in the sixties- and that focuses on what happens in the layer that surrounds the Earth's surface.
Today, in the halls of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Salta, there are other images that summon us: Santiago Estellano displays his most recent works that have arisen around a question: what if the current pandemic were Gaia's Revenge?
Inspired by the aforementioned theory, Estellano transforms into images the reflections addressed for decades in the international scientific field. And these images -created from other images- contain within themselves the poetic use of collage. Collage that as a plastic tool is in tune with the proliferation of images that digital communication imposes on us -exponentially increased- after two years of social isolation due to the pandemic.
If the contingencies experienced by the Covid19 virus are a kind of revenge of nature, it is urgent for us to take action in favor of it immediately. Otherwise, we will be irremediably condemned to live the next few springs stunned by the deepest and most devastating silence.
Cecilia Medina
Satelital image
GeoPortal of Web Services of the National Commission for Space Activities (CONAE) of Argentina
Higanbana Army presents:
“Situation Status: Pollution levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in Salta Capital”
Altar "Luna Santa"
LIGNUM VITAE:
Pre-Hispanic cultures used to use it for religious and spiritual rituals, to attract good luck, ward off negativity and to achieve better spiritual communication with their gods. Whether in infusion or incense, Palo Santo is ideal for cleaning and purifying the environment.
AMETHYST:
Amethyst has great powers, it is a very relaxing stone, it gives balance, sincerity, purity and spirituality. It brings common sense, wisdom and creates harmony. Helps clarify problem solving, decision making and changes. Amethyst transmutes energy, like the alchemy of deep transformation, the cycles of life and death.
MOONSTONE:
Physical healing energy: this stone is responsible for boosting the biological forces of the body, that is, it promotes fertility, childbirth and relieves menstrual pain. In addition, it helps fight degenerative conditions in the skin, eyes and hair.
Emotional healing energy: Moonstone helps to relax the mind and body, it also helps to master emotions to express yourself correctly. Chakra healing and balancing energy: directly affects the crown chakra, and the spiritual center, bringing concentration, wisdom and peace into the body. Spiritual energy: using this stone was synonymous with hope and faith, for that reason, in India it was widely used, because it was considered to represent their hope. Amulets and talismans: for many years, the Moonstone was considered a talisman. In health: Moonstone does not replace any medical treatment, but some healers use it to stimulate the pineal gland and level the heartbeat. Magical properties: in the countries, women who wanted to get pregnant sewed moonstones into their clothes and used them during the full moon. This stone is also associated with business, protection, good luck and passionate love.
SELENITE:
Selenite is the name given to transparent gypsum crystals. Its name comes from the Greek "selene", which means "moon". Since ancient times, the existence of the Selenites was thought to be inhabitants of the Moon. The origin goes back to the Greek civilization, which believed in the existence of these beings and recounted the journeys of the first humans who visited the now known moon.
Selenite favors intuition and innate wisdom. It is used to make requests at the time of the new moon and full moon phase. It is a cleansing and purifying mineral and can be placed where you feel blockages or meditate between your hands.
OBSIDIAN:
Obsidian is a volcanic rock belonging to the silicate group, it is dark in color, often called volcanic glass. Spiritually vitalizes the soul and removes energy blockages and tensions. Very powerful and creative stone, it helps to increase self-control, to be authentic. Repels negativity, shows us what affects us inside and also allows us to integrate and balance our negative side with the positive. Stimulates and relates to the root chakra. Obsidian is associated with the new moon phase where the conscious and the subconscious merge and we can see inside ourselves.
TAROT CARD THE MOON:
The Moon (XVIII) is a card of the Tarot and the 18th arcana. According to the tarot, it is associated with the unknown atomic entity, security in the dark and with the seat of the soul and with eternity. What you hide or hide from you, are our pains that even though they hurt, you shine, but they're still there. The dogs are the people who are nearby, seeing and feeling your pain, attentive to what you need, even though what happens can affect them too. The climbing crab symbolizes something risen from the dark depths, our fears and deepest fears and the life of the imagination separated from the life of the spirit. The dog and the wolf are the fears of the mind in the presence of escape, when it is only reflected light.
VERBENA CEDAR ESSENCE:
Floral Herbaceous olfactory family: It is a unisex, citrus, fresh and clean fragrance. Ideal for hot summer environments in open and relaxed spaces. It contains watery, citrus top notes such as lime and mandarin, a herbaceous floral heart typical of verbena, chamomile and freesia and a warm background of Japanese red cedar, fig leaves and eucalyptus. Main fragrance ingredients: Cedar, Verbena, Chamomile and Eucalyptus.
