‘Nomadic Seeds’ by Perla l ayú
Photography: Regina Megia Idílica GabrielEduardoMagazineCruzBonfanti
‘Nomadic Seeds’ by Perla l ayú
I like to think of seeds as nomadic beings full of life, traveling short or long distances in search of the ideal conditions to germinate, and
I opened my eyes and I could see by way of my heart… I discovered a marvelous universe of seeds, discovered how astonishing and complex it is! Observing them I could understand that they possess great intelligence and riches, both botanically and esthetically speaking. In their morphology they are endowed with numerous and hallucinatingly powerful mechanisms for being able to disperse themselves.
Inspiration for ‘Nomadic Seeds’ by Perla l ayú
Seeds are fashioned by the mother tree or plant with great intelligence, and are beautifully equipped to be able to travel, thus ensuring their survival. They can be delicious and colorful, juicy or fibrous, light or heavy, a whole universe of flavors, colors, textures, odors and properties. The substances that are part of the designs of each species are the inspiration for many artists and creators, as well as engineers and scientists. Undoubtedly everything in existence created by human beings is inspired by nature.
thus contribute their vibrant plant life to the ecological fabric in which we are all important. Without a doubt, we could learn a lot from them just by observing them carefully and letting ourselves be amazed by the spectacle of their being. In light of the above, I have named this creative project “Nomadic Seeds,” arising from a great concern which, though not new, through this project has the purpose of promoting the consciousness of care and respect for our environment, taking art as a tool to raise awareness and transmit my message. In the pieces I create, I seek as much as possible to represent the ways in which some species are dispersed in their natural environment by means of the wind or by the action of exploding (to cite just two examples), which in botanical or biological language are named as anemochory or autochory, respectively. These installations are assembled inside glass domes and within them I capture the moment of dispersion, in order to bring the viewer closer to one of the most fascinating, beautiful and powerful moments: life being sent forth. With these installations, my desire is to be able to reflect on the vital processes carried out by nature to sustain us and perpetuate us on this planet full of life.
“Nerium Seed”, 2022. Dome mounted with botanicals 43 x 33 x 20 cm.
“kapok Seed”, 2022. Dome mounted with botanicals 34 x 25 x 25 cm.
“Taraxacum”, 2022. Dome mounted with botanicals 36 x 15 x 15 cm.
‘Nomadic Seeds’
That we have lost our relatedness to the natural world is a commonplace. So too that we have addicted ourselves to so many forms of enhancement, that we have forgotten the extraordinary must have its roots in the ordinary otherwise it is empty. But the extraordinary work of Perla Ruiz retains such roots. It begins with a way of seeing. I have looked on the same leaves falling from the same tree and not seen the radiant choreography that she sees. This seeing allows Ruiz to capture the music of a very particular moment in her sculpture - the instant the plant disseminates – with the force of an enhanced reality. The result holds two opposing ideas together: an act of meticulously faithful reconstruction and an imaginative ejaculation by which newness is brought into the world. An impossible moment in which time is suspended and yet life is still there in all musical vividness. Dr. a. K. benjamin
Perla Ruiz’s aesthetic intuition identifies facets of beauty in nature often overlooked. The distinctive artwork she creates allows us access to her unique sensibility and perspective. Each piece beautifully captures a suspended moment of life’s transcendent essence in organic wholeness. brian Cobb
Being constantly immersed in the world of art and taking part in creative and curator processes, I have been able to learn from an extremely inspiring environment on a visual and theoretical level. These fields have led me to experiment freely in different disciplines, using differing techniques and creative tools.
Profile
I have studied as an art historian and at the same time I have developed following an intuitive and self-taught path in the world of botany. Over almost 20 years in which I have had the fortune to collaborate from different platforms with visual artists and various cultural projects, I have been able to develop an aesthetic sensitivity that has helped me to observe our natural environment from a deeper and more sensorial understanding.
Furthermore, I had the great fortune of being born in a state with enormous biological and socio-cultural diversity, that being Oaxaca, a deeply inspiring land that enriches our way of perceiving the world. The botanical representations captured by all cultures in their various artistic manifestations throughout the history of art have constantly caught my attention. There has been no civilization without plants, as plants are life itself. In this sense, I have gotten closer to the immeasurable plant universe: Honoring my constant curiosity and habit of research, I began a self-taught learning journey: taking herbal medicine lessons,
y hábito de investigar, comencé a un viaje de aprendizaje autodi dacta: tomando lecciones de herbolaria, impartiendo talleres para niños sobre arte y naturaleza, recorriendo montes y ríos; visitando distintas regiones del estado de Oaxaca, ofreciendo apoyo con temas de museo grafía comunitaria o temas afines a manera de intercambio y partici pando activamente en temas de reforestación. Como resultado tuve la oportunidad de unir lo que tanto me gusta y me apasiona en la vida: ver desde una apreciación sensible y estética, conocer culturas con una mirada antropológica y aprender de sus paisajes y ecosistemas. No me gusta definirme dentro de una sola disciplina, pues creo que todos los seres humanos deberíamos de sentirnos siempre libres de expresarnos mediante lo que nos entusiasma y desarrollar diálogos que aporten algo al tejido vital del que todos formamos parte esencial.
semillas_nomadas perlalayu@gmail.com perlalayu