Ana María Durán Calisto (Quito, Ecuador, 1971)
lives and works in Quito, Ecuador and New Haven, Connecticut, USA
Jaskran Kalirai (Derby, UK, 1974)
lives and works in Quito, Ecuador and Derbyshire, UK
Estudio A0
Surfacing — The Civilised Agroecological Forests of Amazonia
Album
Description
Gold prospecting using LiDAR in the twenty-first century has brought to the surface not only vast mineral deposits but also evidence of mega-regional cities. The digital whispers of these cities forcefully speak of the civilisations built by the people of the Amazon River basin tributaries for over five millennia.
The land of the ‘savage’ portrayed by the European conquest through Greek mythical beings and medieval legendary monsters are now being portrayed by remote sensing as the land of interwoven constellations of agroecological urbanisms that call for a new name, for an ontological reckoning.
The civilisations of oral traditions are wanting of recognition, not as exotic urbanisms to be marginally included in history textbooks, but as brilliant, working examples of urban ecology that may lead our way into a reconciliation of the city, its foods systems, and its hinterlands. This is the focus of this exhibition.
Credits
Project
Estudio A0 - Ana María Durán Calisto, Jaskran Kalirai and Nicolás Vivas
Authorial collaborator
Manuela Omari Ima
Weaving artists - Fishing nets
Borita Boyotai, Ruth Huamoni, Bebanca Ima, Game Ima, Guiwe Ima, Omenkiri Ima, Omeñia Ima, Quemea Ima, Yero Ima, Patricia Irumenga, Cabe Nongui, Carolina Nongui, Ene Omaca, Wetora Omene, and Ene Omene
Weaving artists - Embroidered Drawings
Boyotai, Juanita Enqueri, Joel Gaba, Rosita Hernán, Bebanca Ima, Manuela Omari Ima, Omeñia Ima, Sandra Ima, Epanai Imunda, Diego Irumenga, Byron Nihua, Ana Omaca, Ene Omaca, Fermín Omene, Laurina Omene, Sheila Omene, Cecilia Padilla, Romelia Papue Mayancha, Sandra Wachapa
Documentation of weaving process
Manuela Omari Ima, Romelia Papue, Carolina Zambrano, and Rebecca Commissaris
Research seminar
Agroecological Urban Constellations of pre-Columbian Amazonia, Spring 2023, Yale School of Architecture
Taught by Ana María Durán Calisto with the assistance of Juan Marcos Guareschi
Architecture students
Ana Batlle Cabral, Nicole De Araujo, Youssef Denial, Nabil Haque, Olly Hoy, Fuad Khazam, Sarah Kim, Haorong Lee, Verónica Nicholson, Smaranda Rusinaru, Cole Summersell, and Matthew Wilde
Soundscape
Artists: Ricardo Mayancha, Fabiano Kueva, Manuwi C Tokai, and Brunno Douat
