Laminariales XVIII advances underwater plant cyanotype art into abstract botanical territory—kelp forms creating powerful vertical structures where organic matter's vestige inhabits the work directly. Water as constant operator presses marine vegetation onto sensitized cotton, generating deep indigo compositions that feel simultaneously scientific specimen and atmospheric oceanic portal. The work's dramatic character invites viewers to navigate underwater forest through majestic blue-toned botanical architecture.
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.
Underwater plant cyanotype art where kelp forms create vertical oceanic architecture—direct botanical presence on cotton. Laminariales XVIII from Bosque by Paola Dávila. Available at The Art Design Project, Miami Beach.
Underwater Plant Cyanotype Art – Laminariales XVIII by Paola Dávila
Laminariales XVIII, 2022
From the series Bosque
Cyanotype on 300 gr cotton paper
Dimensions: 193 Hx 38 W cm.
Unique
Signed by the artist
Paola Dávila was born in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1980. She studied Visual Arts at the National School of Plastic Arts of Mexico, where she attended the contemporary painting seminar. He also attended theory and photography workshops. In 2002, he received the National Photography Prize at the Yucatan Visual Arts Biennial, the Acquisition Prize at the IV Libertad de Arte Contest, and the state scholarship for Jovenes Creadores FOECA from the state of Oaxaca. It has nine individual exhibitions and more than 30 collective exhibitions both in Mexico and abroad. During 2010 he received the Tierney Grant awarded by the Tierney Foundation of New York for the Manuel Álvarez Bravo Photographic Center to carry out the Temporary Interiors project. He has been a beneficiary of the Young Creators Program, FONCA, in 2003, 2006 and 2011. In 2014 he received the Scholarship for Artistic Exchanges and Residencies, FONCA-Land Salzburg of Austria, thanks to which he started the Schrebergarten project. In 2017 the City of Oaxaca awarded her the degree of Distinguished Citizen, in recognition of her artistic career. In 2019 he obtained the title of Master of Visual Arts from UNAM with honorable mention. In 2021 he won the acquisition prize at the XIX National Photography Biennial, organized by the Image Center. Since 2020 he is a member of the National System of Art Creators, FONCA, CONACULTA.
