Academia Cotopaxi I.B. Art: Mercedes 2011

As I stride through the Ecuadorian beaches or rain forests there are amazing things to encounter. An ordinary rock reveals patterns and colors, sometimes even a hidden cosmos, that is masked from human sight. Shells, seeds, small stones all become ingredients of a conceptual jewelry. Humans see nature as a whole “beautiful” environment, but little things such as rocks or seeds aren’t even considered as a category worthy of notice. This is the process through which humans collect ‘nature’ in order to incorporate it into their lives.

It is ironic how a threatened species is collected in order to be exhibited as a jewelry piece, which becomes the reason why it’s endangered. For instance there is a cycle found in the shellfish spondylus princeps which begins as a tiny particle coming from the bottom of the ocean. The Spondylus shell develops and grows into a beautiful shell, but does it take a human to turn it into something even more valuable and “beautiful” than it already is – as a piece of jewellery?

Indeed are less ‘precious’ objects, such as stones, seeds or insects any less rare or beautiful. It’s their combination of textures, colors and in some cases materials which are a record of the diversity of the Ecuadorian landscape.

During walks, I collect objects and memories whose record will be kept through the making of installations and paintings. Just as for special occasions where jewelry is used to lock memories, I freeze special moments by the collection and arrangement of ‘ordinary objects’.

It’s become a very personal series - one I’ve decided to develop and connect to the beauty found in common objects that can be discovered in the most frequented places.