From Djerassi to Market or Vice-versa

I am enjoying another residency at Djerassi Resident Artist Program in the Santa Cruz Mountains. I am so grateful and happy to be back to what it was my first home in California. However this year my stay feels more like an spiritual retirement, since the last two years have been very busy working in dialogue with the City of San Francisco, around Mid Market and the Tenderloin, and interacting with its people.  This feels like a nice break to put things together.

Two years ago I collaborated with artist and friend Eliza Barrios (www.elizabarrios.com) in a project called Daily Slots. During a month we used the Newspaper's stands from the Clearchannel company to deliver messages, raise questions and engage with the people. Very early in the morning we would replace the front newspaper with printed letters that would form words and sentences. "Convenience is the enemy", "Credito de hoy, hambre de manana", "Capitalism is over if you want it!" where some of the titles that San Franciscans would find instead of the usual newspaper cover.

Convenience is The Enemy. DAILY SLOTS. July 2010

Central Market Street and the Tenderloin were also the source of inspiration for another project called Tenderloin Dreamscapes.  It started with a few animations using charcoal to playfully change the urban landscape.

This Tenderloin Dreamscapes series took me to Mid market where I worked for a few weeks in a large charcoal drawing intervention covering partially the facade of the old Strand Theater.

An now back to my studio in the woods in the Santa Cruz Mountains I continue working in a project that address the way we perceive the urban landscape.

The city is a territory full of stories that inspire my art practice. When I walk or bike in the city I notice a very complex web of connections, including my own connection with the urban landscape and its inhabitants. All these chaotic relationships influence the way I look at the world, at our city, the way I hear its stories and how I notice its people.

Urban Decoration Project. Tenderloin District

Here in the woods I am working on how to integrate certain natural organic forms into the urban furniture, walls, floors or any other architectural elements. San Francisco inspire me to act as a decorator, as a co-creator of a story that takes place in between what I see and what I envision.

Urban Decoration Project. Market and 7th