Laminariales XIII presents oceanic botanical cyanotype where majestic kelp structures emerge through water's direct mediation—organic marine matter inhabiting photosensitive surface rather than being depicted. Dávila's process overturns landscape tradition: water reveals and performs, pressing underwater vegetation onto cotton emulsion to create deep indigo forest forms. The vertical composition carries botanical drama, immersing viewers in oceanic atmospheric depth where presence replaces representation.
Water is constant in the artist's visual investigation, for her water is no longer the stage in which the body's memory bursts, but rather the environment and protagonist, constant operator of the image, water reveals, unveils, performs. The landscape is recorded by direct contact with the paper and the sensitive emulsion, and in this case, organic matter and the vestige of living organisms inhabit it. That is, there is no representation, but rather its direct presence as part of the work. It is almost dramaturgy, a high-sounding discussion with the visual arts, the history of Landscaping is overturned.
Oceanic botanical cyanotype where underwater forest forms emerge through direct water mediation—majestic marine vegetation. Laminariales XIII from Bosque by Paola Dávila. Available at The Art Design Project, Miami Beach.
