Botanical island : : living-lab, Blue Mountains, Australia 2019
Located on the limits of Wollemi National Park, in the UNESCO`s World Heritage listed Greater Blue Mountains, the site-specific intervention proposes a -living lab- through a conductive thread across different narratives of this fragile ecosystem . Along a circuit path the intervention delimits and scopes a fragment of a forest, as a botanical island with significant biodiversity that contains multiple layers of endemic landscapes offering the sensory experience of touching, smelling, observing, walking and listening. The site-specific intervention is a symbolic delimitation of a portion of a pristine forest and the enhancement of its biodiversity. Native plant species, endemic fauna and the low-impact trace weave together botany and perceptual experience. The project proposes dialogues between sensory and didactic approach and community`s knowledge dissemination.
Germination : : body & seeds, Milpa, Mexico 2019
Germination proposes a bio-connection between seeds and body through a series of living sculptures that pay homage to the cultural significance of La Milpa, an agricultural system from Mexican civilization that produces maize, beans and squash.
Nature-based dialogues: The seed germinates from the body, as a symbolic and symbiotic piece that evokes new links to relate human being to natural cycles through poetic dialogues.
soundscapes : : Echoes from the sea, Mallorca 2018
With the intention of listening the symphony of the Mediterranean sea, its rhythms, musicality, and sonic ambience, the project proposes a new dialogue with the surrounding landscape through the sensory experience of hearing. The acoustic installation, as an instrument that plays sounds from nature, is located on a steep cliff on the east coast of Mallorca island, above the Mediterranean sea. From the lime stones, the piece gives a sensitive notion to the natural environment, bringing a new perception to the marine context through the bodily experience. In this way the piece makes a link to the ocean through its acoustic environment amplifying the echoes from the sea; wind, birds, rain and breeze.
The acoustic device explores the use of a local material terracotta, through an artisanal technique that responds to the cultural context of the island.
Note: The text above was written by the Artist. No modification was made by COCA.
Ivan Juarez
Mexico | Spain
Architect, landscape architect and practicing artist. Ivan Juarez works at the intersection of practice, research and teaching, across a wide variety of media and scales. Founder and principal of x-studio, a multidisciplinary research practice focused on exploring different contextual disciplines through the dialogue between cultural and ecological systems. He explores unique sites in dialogue with places, senses and ecologies. Through his practice he has produced a series of projects that explore the natural and built environment from a cross-disciplinary approach. A series of works conceived in diverse contexts and scales ranging from landscape, low-impact and environmental interventions to body architectures, installations, sculptures, architectonic spaces and exhibition spaces. These works have been created in different countries of Europe, America, Africa and Australia. His works and trajectory have been awarded by multiple international institutions.