2018

olive tree branches, concrete, water, subwoofer sound

BLANCA, SPAIN

After coming to Blanca and immersing themselves in the environment, the landscape and the people of the Murcia region, Tyler Lewis and Mara Marxt Lewis became acutely aware of the immediate threat of desertification: a process caused by climatic variations, globalized industrialization and urbanization processes. Desertification stands as a major barrier to meeting basic human needs, affecting the livelihoods of the local people who depend on the dry land ecosystem for farming and agriculture. It is one of the greatest environmental challenges today, occurring in dry lands throughout the world and affecting biodiversity, water reserves and soil quality.

The desert is one of the most symbolic and meaningful territories we have on our planet – still not entirely understood. An empty place but full of physical and spiritual resources. The desert is also the memory of our planet and a symbol of adaptation and regeneration, where seeds and plants may remain inactive for a long time and then regenerate with the slightest presence of moisture.

The desert can be as well a site of altered perception, the place where we lose orientation and where we experience the mirages. In Blanca they created works in response to ideas about water, a lack thereof, and what happens when it’s gone.

Work developed during the Residency program of AADK Spain.