elsa lamartina
VISUAL ARTIST
Yacuruna
Photo: Yacuruna
Format 90x90
Printed on matte pigment photo paper
Plexiglass support material
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Photo: Yacuruna
Format 22.5x22.5
plexiglass cube height 3.5 cm
In November 2015, a report was published on the pollution of the surrounding areas of the Peruvian Amazon especially concentrated in the Patoyacu stream and Chambira river near the Urarina community (lot 8 - lot 1AB / 192).
High concentrations of lead, arsenic, nickel, tetrahydropyran, cadmium and unregulated oils have been found in groundwater that have exceeded legal limits.
Those who suffered the most were the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon.
On the banks of the river there are indigenous populations who regulate their daily lives with it, sharing a spiritual relationship. For the Kukama (indigenous people), there are different worlds: earth, water, under water, sky and above the sky, inhabited by beings who influence people's lives, for better or for worse.
Yacuruna is a mythological god who lives in the depths
of the Amazon River and lakes near Iquitos and ne
affects life.
The oil pollution, causing the death of fish and crops, disease and economic damage is narrated by the Kukama with the mythological figure of the Yacuruna, the spirit of the lord of the river.
The indigenous peoples believe that the pollution is caused by a discomfort of the Yacuruna, and that it must therefore be respected.
In January 2020 I went to Iquitos with the intention of making a report. But then I encountered difficulties as the Indians do not allow foreigners into their community, they are reserved and attentive because many have taken advantage of them and their history.
So I decided to talk about environmental discomfort in another language.
To tell this environmental disaster I made
a Snowglobe - usually used for souvenirs, in this case instead used with the polluted water of the place. This is to recreate a biosphere that incorporates the characteristics of the water of the Amazon River and of the Yacuruna myth, as if it were a polluted and magical sphere at the same time.
The reproduction of the souvenir object is meant to be a necessary provocation to make people reflect on how important it is to recover the connection that man has with the earth and with what it gives him, reminding us that we are part of a cosmos and that this is in danger our cause.
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With Yacuruna I wanted to enhance the link between water and the populations that inhabit it, emphasizing the importance of the threat, not only environmental but also spiritual.
The reproduction of the souvenir object is meant to be a necessary provocation to make people reflect on how important it is to recover the connection that man has with the earth and with what it gives him, reminding us that we are part of a cosmos and that this is in danger our cause.
​
With Yacuruna I wanted to enhance the link between water and the populations that inhabit it, emphasizing the importance of the threat, not only environmental but also spiritual.