ABOUT_UNUS_MUNDUS

In response to the acceptance of this commission and the increasing polarization around the pandemic and police issues in early 2020, I intentionally chose to study and understand practices of inner reflection, trauma, and dialogue for the purpose of creating space for conversation and healing. I attended countless workshops, and due to the online nature of engaging during the last couple of years, I had ample opportunity to actually put into practice what I was learning about, implementing lessons within myself and applying through my work the modalities with which I’ve become educated. Discovering, acknowledging and integrating my shadow has become so valuable to me that it has transformed my very being, my purpose, and the way I can be of service.

𝗙𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: @𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗵 @𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘆𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗱 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀: @𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀_𝘄𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘇𝗮𝗽𝗳𝗲𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘀: @𝗯𝗿𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 @𝗳𝘅𝗺𝘀𝗯𝗵 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 @𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝘆 𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘅 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝘀𝗵 + 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗸𝗮 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗼

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚝 𝚐𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚜𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜, 𝚞𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚢𝚙𝚎𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎, “𝙺𝚘𝚖𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜-𝚂𝚌𝚑𝚛𝚒𝚏𝚝” 𝙹𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚏 𝙰𝚕𝚋𝚎𝚛𝚜’ 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗 𝟷𝟿𝟸𝟹 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝙱𝚊𝚞𝚑𝚊𝚞𝚜. 𝙲𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚎𝚜: 𝚊 𝚜𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚎, 𝚊 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚕𝚎, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚊 𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚒𝚛𝚌𝚕𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚞𝚜-𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚊𝚗𝚒𝚣𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝚊 𝚐𝚛𝚒𝚍. ⁣

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀, 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰, 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 – 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻/𝘀𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆. 𝗠𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀, 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲. 𝗚𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗽𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘃𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝘀, 𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝙼𝚢 𝚖𝚊𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚌𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚝𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚒𝚝𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚟𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚜, 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚘𝚛𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚋𝚎𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚢 𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚏𝚝𝚢 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚏 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚢, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚎𝚎𝚍𝚘𝚖 𝚏𝚎𝚕𝚝 𝚋𝚢 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚊𝚏𝚎𝚝𝚢. 𝙿𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝𝚞𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚒𝚎𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚒𝚝𝚢 𝚎𝚗𝚐𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 𝚒𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚌𝚑 𝙸 𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝚠𝚑𝚒𝚖𝚜𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚜𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚏𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜, 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚋𝚘𝚍𝚢.

Additional information:

This public art commission consists of mosaics and mobiles– the mosaics, composed of different shapes on two walls, refer to the original topography of East Boston, which used to be five separate islands that were later covered in landfill, integrating separate elements into a whole. Images of historical photographs and parts of vintage maps superimposed and embedded within depict glimpses of the landscape of parks that have since been demolished, shipyards, an eagle, the Watchmen’s Police Department, aerial images of the airport, tying in East Boston's history, economy and culture in layers of meaning. The mobile’s playfulness brings diversity to life with the metaphors of the mosaic (a whole from parts), glass (transparency), and a play of light, ever-changing (the ephemeral nature of art and being), which invites the opportunity for the fusion of unique vantages (the project appears different from every angle.) As the viewer moves around, our potential can be embraced in what we, as a society, can overcome, even while witnessing in each other opposite poles. The mesmerizing environment invites the audience to mutual participation, to an experience of synthesis and communion.

The Workshop - Dia-Logos in Action:

Over three days, community members were involved in the creation of the project through a playful workshop where participants engaged in the embodiment of sovereignty and authenticity, noticing and identifying differences in emotions (fear, joy, anger, anxiety, and sadness), perspectives, and sensations in the body. Using accessible, whimsical animations and characters, the community members practiced deep listening, exploring differences and similarities (shadow work), and constructing mobiles that demonstrate the delicacy and nuance necessary to achieve balance. Understanding language is vital for individual and collective empowerment and essential for true dialogue.

Language:

Language is used throughout the project very specifically, leading to the discovery of treasures in the etymology (roots and meanings) of words whose meanings may have changed over time; words bring to life the intention of both the installation as well as the workshop that preceded the creation of the mobiles. Words used for this project are SERVE, En-Joy, Courage, Communion, Vocation, em-Body, and perspective, which are captured abstractly in Josef Albers’ font case, drawing the viewer into Dia-Logos.

Dialogue:

The color was used for contrast as it talks about our differences; we are meant to be different, unique and in truly seeing each other and recognizing our differences, we can engage in dialogue, discovering something new each time the viewer walks around the piece, embodying a new perspective. There is always something new, it’s alive, and with different light streaming in through the window, or in darkness, the color is a continual invitation to find meaning; color is abstract, but not meaningless.

How do local narratives contribute to an emerging space for the communion of voices, to a locus for the integration of differences? Self-inquiry leads to understanding the self, where we find our unique gifts, and what we have to offer is important and distinct. Find out the language you want to speak – if you want to serve the community teaching, go ahead. If you want to serve the community being an artist, go ahead. Being authentic, really true to yourself, is so important, because once you root that, you’re like a tree, and a tree does not ask the river, “What are you doing down there all wet?”

Symbology:

In the Mystery, the light shed will reveal what is latent for each of us, and that will show us our authenticity, with Spirit/humanity being the glue that holds us together. As if we are the islands and our humanity the landfill, UNUS MUNDUS, Latin for "One World", is the Jungian concept of an underlying unified reality from which everything emerges and to which everything returns. Designated local names such as Eagle Hill and Condor Street, both meaningful and symbolic animals from the USA and my native Colombia, indicate the spectrum of vision (perspective) - the birds can see from very far away in an abstract way, but can also hone in and focus where interested. This is symbolic of how the unique experiences of the individual and the collective intertwine. Various components have been positioned in a way that, in order to be seen, viewers have to move their bodies, and in doing so, embody and discover a new perspective.

I embody my own perspective and no longer seek “truth”; my vision is a synthesis of all disciplines, guiding me to manifest a reality that matches my desire to evolve. I create mesmerizing environments for public spaces, intimate interpersonal interactions through astrological readings, and meaningful spaces for individual and communal development through talks and workshops. I enjoy directing and producing diverse projects, from complex multi-media installations and public art commissions to artists’ books, textile design, and community workshops – thus, I see no boundaries between the applied and fine arts.

Link to bio