Proposal

My proposal comprises two pivotal components:

First, Establish an Ephemeral Museum dedicated to hosting archaeological pieces primarily associated with Mesoamerican culture, emphasizing Olmec and the Mayan aspects the most.

To achieve this, I will draw from two sources: Artifacts found, collected, or obtained through auctions, currently totaling over 150 pieces. These artifacts will be showcased online, with a video map projected, 3D printed, and presented through various media determined in collaboration with individuals, institutions, or collaborators in specific site areas, when possible, in archeological sites whenever we have the proper permits and respect for the culture. Most of my pieces are integral to larger structures crafted from rock, obsidian, or clay.

I have recently initiated the process of 3D scanning them using the lidar on my phone, with plans to transition to Revopoint 3D scanners.

Additionally, during my regular museum visits, I utilize my lidar to capture data from pieces currently housed in institutions like The Metropolitan Museum in New York. Leveraging AI, I aim to recreate or "complete" these artifacts, compensating for any missing parts using AI tools. I plan on reproducing them over time by 3D printing and, when possible, creating site-specific video map projections.

Second: Site-specific sculptures

Depending on the budgetary capacity, I am contemplating the creation of sculptures crafted from recycled materials, including treated and sculpted Styrofoam. In my statement, I will explain why I chose this material.

Statement

I am a native of a region that, in precolonial times, was inhabited by the Náhuat-Pipil, Lenca, and Kakawira people. They were connected to the Maya civilization in different ways, which was influenced at the same time by the Olmec cosmogony (1600 – 400 B.C.), an undeniable testament to the cultural richness of our region.

Unfortunately, colonization dictatorships, subsequent commercial influence, and post-colonialism have eroded our ancestral culture. This is reflected in the loss of our native languages or leaving them up to extinction and adopting Spanish and English as our actual forms of communication and cosmogony under occidental philosophies or religions.

My research focuses on a juxtaposition of timeframes from ancestral culture and its relationship with the natural environment to our present, marked by technological advances and the exploitation of natural resources and ecosystems.

Through various technologies, I aim to create new ways of representing the identity of people like me in the present time to develop new ways of documenting contemporary memories. In this way, my objective is to emphasize the value of memories that have been diluting and transforming since colonial times.

I’ll constantly refer to The Mesoamerican culture as my route, considering the most crucial part of who we are as a region and looking back to pre-colonial times.

I’m currently dedicated to scanning ceramic artifacts, some of which have been considered "archaeological trash" due to their limited archaeological value. I aim to give them a place in the virtual digital world and, simultaneously, in the real world through various means. In some cases (and because the artifacts are incomplete), I allow AI technologies to fill the missing gaps; I’ll re-print some artifacts in clay and plastic; in my opinion, it creates a literal reflection of our current identities. My working process will be traditionally documented with various media. I’ll be constantly searching for external support like residencies or grants, believing these opportunities could benefit my project since I would have the chance to meet other specialists and interact with them, which will provide a chance to go in-depth into my research.

I hope to continue and expand my research to emphasize the importance of preserving the cultural heritage of my region and present the content in complex and culturally diverse like New York, where I have lived for the last six years, as an aim to give my culture a similar value other civilizations have like the Romans, Egyptians, or Asian cultures, innovatively using technology to connect the past and the present under aesthetics younger generations feel connected to.

As a background of this project, I have curated and co-created with another collaborator artist under the name Mantenerse Humano, which focuses on three crucial topics :

Extinction and new interplanetary territories presented in the shows: Intergalactix: against isolation hosted by Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions - LACE- May-Aug 2021; Mantenerse Humano, hosted by Museo de Arte de El Salvador -MARTE- Feb-Apr 2023; Celestial Spaces Reflecting Terrestrial Space hosted by Soil Factory Residency Ithaca New York Jul-Aug 2023.

A curated selection of work will be presented at the Anthropology Museum in my country in the first quarter of 2025.