‘Contained rituals. Cohabiting, following relationships and getting entangled’
by Seila Fernández Arconada
‘Contained rituals. Cohabiting, following relationships and getting entangled' is a project by the artist-researcher Seila Fernández Arconada. It presents a process based research of re-rooting to the territory in which she was born, establishing new links with it, through a series of artistic rituals that are born on an 'island ' located at the confluence between the Besaya river and the Dobra mountain. It is a project with multiple layers where tensions take place, arising from a watery reality in constant transformation where human processes are present having a trace on the land, even an impact on the territory immersed on natural cycles of more than human species.
‘Contained Rituals’ is nourished by (co)inhabiting through (bio)diverse artistic languages, branching out into questions and fluid creations that transit the multisensory; from the most corporeal to what is immersed in collective traditions and rituals. A dialogue of different kinds of knowledge inspired by nature submerged between bodies of water from the human body itself to the river and the Dobra mountain (Dobra: Dubron in Celtic 'place where water abounds') to reach the Moon and its 'watery temporalities '.
This approach seeks to flow from artistic exploration, encouraging relational questions, entangled in the cracks and the outskirts, through methodologies that begin in art and are woven with other disciplines and knowledge. One of the ingredients of this project is the mapping of the river through various techniques such as sound and photographic creation, dialogue with people near the river, as well as the search for ‘river plants’ and plants that are extinct in the natural environment, among others. . In turn, the artist has organized several collective gatherings on the 'island' of the Besaya river, seeking to encourage debate and creation and thus weave links and knowledge through collective experience in the territory.
The resulting reflection of this process is transferred to the exhibition showing an experimental ground where several multidisciplinary installations inhabit the space, some of them changing throughout the exhibition through natural processes, others inhabiting and expanding through sound waves and light weaving watery transitory temporalities between day and night. The duration of the exhibition from its assembly to its disassembly is exactly one lunar cycle, which is important in its narrative.
‘Contained rituals’ also includes collaborations with international artists close to the artist, processes that are intrinsic to the nature of her work and reveal other synergies and relationships beyond the local context. These narratives start from the situated and are woven with global debates such as climate change, the fragility of water and biodiversity as well as the construction of present and future imaginaries where other forms, other views and other worlds are possible.
This project has been awarded with the Program Curatorship 2022 carried out with the support of the Ministry of Universities, Equality, Culture and Sports of the Government of Cantabria. The aim of the program is promoting and disseminating the talent of artists and curators in the region and diversifying the exhibition of projects in institutions and cultural spaces in the region. Coordination and management of this year's program is by Emma Meruelo and Wendy Navarro.
Acknowledgements:
Tere, Aitana, Oscar, Enrique, Aline, Martín, Bogdan, Chuchi, Laura, David, Elena, Mar, Salomé, Elisa, Deva, Laura, Christopher, Txaro, Mikel, Raúl, Nacho, Jorge, Izaskun, Bernard, Eduardo, Mari Paz, Neus, Mireia, Raquel, Leopoldo, Emma, Wendy, Igor… Thanks also to the ‘island’ of the river, to the Besaya river and the Dobra mountain, to its human and more than human inhabitants.
‘Contained Rituals’ is nourished by (co)inhabiting through (bio)diverse artistic languages, branching out into questions and fluid creations that transit the multisensory; from the most corporeal to what is immersed in collective traditions and rituals. A dialogue of different kinds of knowledge inspired by nature submerged between bodies of water from the human body itself to the river and the Dobra mountain (Dobra: Dubron in Celtic 'place where water abounds') to reach the Moon and its 'watery temporalities '.
This approach seeks to flow from artistic exploration, encouraging relational questions, entangled in the cracks and the outskirts, through methodologies that begin in art and are woven with other disciplines and knowledge. One of the ingredients of this project is the mapping of the river through various techniques such as sound and photographic creation, dialogue with people near the river, as well as the search for ‘river plants’ and plants that are extinct in the natural environment, among others. . In turn, the artist has organized several collective gatherings on the 'island' of the Besaya river, seeking to encourage debate and creation and thus weave links and knowledge through collective experience in the territory.
The resulting reflection of this process is transferred to the exhibition showing an experimental ground where several multidisciplinary installations inhabit the space, some of them changing throughout the exhibition through natural processes, others inhabiting and expanding through sound waves and light weaving watery transitory temporalities between day and night. The duration of the exhibition from its assembly to its disassembly is exactly one lunar cycle, which is important in its narrative.
‘Contained rituals’ also includes collaborations with international artists close to the artist, processes that are intrinsic to the nature of her work and reveal other synergies and relationships beyond the local context. These narratives start from the situated and are woven with global debates such as climate change, the fragility of water and biodiversity as well as the construction of present and future imaginaries where other forms, other views and other worlds are possible.
This project has been awarded with the Program Curatorship 2022 carried out with the support of the Ministry of Universities, Equality, Culture and Sports of the Government of Cantabria. The aim of the program is promoting and disseminating the talent of artists and curators in the region and diversifying the exhibition of projects in institutions and cultural spaces in the region. Coordination and management of this year's program is by Emma Meruelo and Wendy Navarro.
Acknowledgements:
Tere, Aitana, Oscar, Enrique, Aline, Martín, Bogdan, Chuchi, Laura, David, Elena, Mar, Salomé, Elisa, Deva, Laura, Christopher, Txaro, Mikel, Raúl, Nacho, Jorge, Izaskun, Bernard, Eduardo, Mari Paz, Neus, Mireia, Raquel, Leopoldo, Emma, Wendy, Igor… Thanks also to the ‘island’ of the river, to the Besaya river and the Dobra mountain, to its human and more than human inhabitants.
‘Ritualidades contenidas. Cohabitar, seguir las relaciones y enredarse’
Seila Fernández Arconada
‘Ritualidades contenidas. Cohabitar, seguir las relaciones y enredarse’ es una propuesta que Seila Fernández Arconada presenta como un proceso de re-arraigamiento al territorio del que es originaria, estableciendo nuevos vínculos con él, a través de una serie de ritualidades artísticas que nacen en una ‘isla’ ubicada en la confluencia entre el río Besaya y el monte Dobra. Se trata de un proyecto con múltiples estratos donde procesos humanos dejan su huella en el territorio a la vez que los ciclos de una naturaleza cambiante y fluida convergen en una realidad acuosa en constante transformación.
‘Ritualidades contenidas’ se nutre del (co)habitar a través de lenguajes artísticos (bio)diversos, ramificándose en preguntas y creaciones fluidas que transitan lo multisensorial desde lo más corpóreo y cercano hacia lo inmerso en costumbres y ritualidades colectivas. Un diálogo de saberes inspirado en la naturaleza, sumergido entre cuerpos de agua desde el propio cuerpo humano hasta el río y la misma montaña, Dobra (Dubron en céltico ‘lugar donde abunda el agua’) para llegar a la luna y sus ‘temporalidades acuosas’.
Este acercamiento busca (con)fluir desde la exploración artística, fomentando preguntas relacionales, enredadas en las grietas y las afueras, a través de metodologías que parten del arte y se tejen con otras disciplinas y saberes. Uno de los ingredientes de este proyecto es el mapeo del río a través de técnicas diversas tales como la creación sonora y fotográfica, el diálogo con personas cercanas al río, además de la búsqueda de plantas de río y plantas extinguidas en el medio natural entre otros. A su vez, la artista ha organizado varios encuentros colectivos en la ‘isla’ del río Besaya buscando fomentar el debate y la creación y así tejer vínculos y conocimientos por medio de la experiencia colectiva en el territorio.
El reflejo resultante de este proceso se traslada a la exposición mostrando un escenario de experimentación donde varias instalaciones multidisciplinares habitan el espacio, algunas de ellas cambiantes a lo largo de la exposición por medio de procesos naturales, otras habitando y expandiéndose por medio de ondas sonoras y lumínicas entremezclando las temporalidades acuosas entre el día y la noche. La duración de la exposición desde su montaje a su desmontaje es exactamente un ciclo lunar, lo cual es importante en la narrativa de la misma.
‘Ritualidades contenidas’, además, incluye colaboraciones con artistas internacionales cercanos a la artista, procesos que son intrínsecos en la naturaleza de su trabajo y desvelan otras sinergias y relaciones más allá del contexto local. Estas narrativas parten de lo situado y se tejen con debates globales tales como el cambio climático, la fragilidad del agua y la biodiversidad, además de la construcción de imaginarios presentes y futuros donde otras formas, otras miradas y otros mundos son posibles.
El proyecto multidisciplinar ‘Ritualidades contenidas. Cohabitar, seguir las relaciones y enredarse’ de la artista cántabra Seila Fernández Arconada podrá verse en la sala de exposiciones de las Casas del Águila y la Parra, de Santillana del Mar, del 1 de julio al 26 de julio de 2022, gracias al Programa Comisariado 2022 realizado con el apoyo de la Consejería de Universidades, Igualdad, Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno de Cantabria.
El Programa Comisariado 2022 es una iniciativa enmarcada dentro de las acciones de consulta y participación llevadas a cabo desde la Mesa de Artes Plásticas y Visuales del Consejo Cántabro de Cultura, desarrollado con el apoyo de la Consejería de Universidades, Igualdad, Cultura y Deporte del Gobierno de Cantabria, con el objetivo de promocionar y difundir el talento de artistas y comisarios de la región y diversificar la exposición de proyectos en instituciones y espacios culturales de la región. Al frente de la coordinación y gestión del programa de este año se encuentran Emma Meruelo y Wendy Navarro.
Agradecimientos:
Tere, Aitana, Oscar, Enrique, Aline, Martín, Bogdan, Chuchi, Laura, David, Elena, Mar, Salomé, Elisa, Deva, Laura, Christopher, Txaro, Mikel, Raúl, Nacho, Jorge, Izaskun, Bernard, Eduardo, Mari Paz, Neus, Mireia, Raquel, Leopoldo, Emma, Wendy, Igor… Gracias también, a la ‘isla’ del río, al río Besaya y al monte Dobra con todos sus habitantes humanos y más que humanos.
Seila Fernández Arconada
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#seilafernandezarconada
Facebook: Programa comisariado Cantabria
Instagram: @programacomisariado2022 @seilafdza

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