SABRINA MERAYO NUÑEZ | The Clemente
Sympoietic
Sabrina Merayo Nunez curated by Tarah Rhoda
The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural & Educational Center
October 3rd - November 30 2023Introduction (curatorial text by Tarah Rhoda)
Sympoietic is a solo installation of interactive light sculptures by Sabrina Merayo Nuñez. When I first met Sabrina, she was participating in the SVA Bio Art Summer Residency, at a laboratory space in which I run and teach. While it was her first experience working with bio art, her innate interest in elements and de/construction made for a great foundation in collaborating with and biological matter. She has gone on to explore cycles of growth and decay, converting matter into data and all the inherent nuances in those kinds of translations.
Rather than using petroleum based resin, Sabrina developed a collagen based bioplastic that is biodegradable and speaks back to the mediation of matter. The amber colored bioplastic is embellished and implanted with a variety of lenses, crystals, chips of bark, electronic sensors, and furniture pieces, much like the petrified tree resin that preserved biological artifacts from the Neolithic period. The surface’s intricate networks of roots, veins, and wires highlight how entangled the routes of nature and technology are and how each has influenced and been influenced by mankind.
The objects on this exhibition have a nest-like appearance and are similar to chrysalises, cocoons, and other ephemeral containers associated with incubation, domestication and transformation. The sculptures are arranged in a way that calls attention to the body, either by acting as surrogates or as points of contact, like a stool or mirror. As if the line between flesh and its interactions have blurred, the forms are engulfed in a transparent material, morphing from fragments to furniture to figures.
As visitors move through the space, motion sensors activate the sculptures. Depending on how they are approached, they may light up, go dim, or pulse as if their hearts were beating. This animated response conjures up a living presence that seemingly acknowledges the act of being seen.
Some of the works have small viewing windows, revealing a delicately textured womb interior. Inside, a glass bulb partially filled with agar encourages microbial life to thrive. Found branches and roots seed the initial growth, which will evolve over the course of the exhibition and become co-collaborators in their own right.
Sabrina Merayo Nunez is interested in examining and bringing together three axes in her work: the processes of nature, human capacity to control them, and the technology that have emerged as intermediaries between them. Tools such as lenses, machines, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence, not only allow us to expand our senses and capacities of understanding, but modify the world we live in. Sabrina views these technologies as extensions of our perception, challenging us to consider the materiality of our own physicality.
Sabrina Merayo Nuñez
Artist Climate/process statement:
My approach to biomaterials and my attention to the impact of my work process on the environment is a consequence of my interest in tracing a chain of relationships and translations between the natural world and human actions. The relationships we create with materiality and nature are what interests me about materials. What processes mediate between direct contact with nature and the human hand? Is it still possible to draw a line between the culture and the nature? These questions lead me to be interested in knowing the sources of the materials I use and also to find a way to develop a conscious practice that allows me to reckon with the consequences of the processes I choose to work with.
The bioplastic material was an ideal choice for many reasons. I was initially drawn to it because it was an organic and reusable material that I could experiment with it and adapt to make my own recipes. The aesthetic quality is fleshlike and the transparency highlights the complexity of the entangled surface, contrasting all the finer details and bringing the sculptures to life.
While bioplastic is an alternative that promises to be much friendlier to the environment and manufacturing processes than the current plastic, there is still a lot of study and development to be done. Research into the nature of the ingredients, where they come from, and how they are sourced and processed is also an important conceptual aspect of my work.
Even though the material is made from organic ingredients, I would like to point out that they are all industrially processed. We no longer have the ability to manually, personally collect these ingredients directly from their natural environment. They come powdered, packaged, refined. This is not meant to be a romantic and nostalgic critique in comparison to the relationship that craftsmen and artists used to have with their materials. But I do think it is time to be aware of how mediated our relationship is with the natural environment. Not in a negative way. A lot of times the processing and the ability to buy online gives us access to materials that would otherwise be impossible to use. I just think that the declaration makes this relationship with the manufacturing of nature more transparent.
Tarah Rhoda
Curator Statement
For the past 10 years I have been running the SVA Bio Art Laboratory, a space that facilitates artists working with biology. We teach workshops on a range of organic based biomaterials, many of which utilize waste. Some of the materials are actually grown through harnessing different organisms and species that can generate forms as a byproduct of their biological process. For example, the cellulose biofilm that develops during the fermentation of kombucha tea can be rendered to resemble everything from fabric, parchment to bubble wrap. The roots of mushroom cultures can digest cardboard packed into 3 dimensional molds, with a styrofoam like lightness and suede like texture. Rather than toxic pigments, artists can experiment painting with a palette of colorful microbes. While some of the materials do require “life support” such as incubators and sterilization, they are otherwise self generating- meaning you just need a little bit to grow a larger supply.
For me one of the biggest impacts of my work as an educator in the Bio Art lab is to foster Biophilia, which is a word for the “innate human instinct to connect with the natural world.” Being located in the middle of downtown Manhattan, it can be tricky to slow down and have these intimate interactions with nature. Having a library of natural phenomenons and artifacts for students to explore stirs up wonder and sets the stage for a deeper understanding of interspecies relationships. Even something as simple as looking through the microscope inspires a sense of awe towards the often unseen, but brilliant mechanisms of life. Collaborating with living matter cultivates care, attention and responsibility in a unique way.
I think a “red thread” throughout Sabrina’s practice is her desire to understand objects through their origins, by deconstructing the whole into parts and further distilling the elemental matter into essence and data, she unpacks how something came to be- from a chair, to the industrial lumber process to the DNA of the tree.
This seemingly endless pursuit of reducing a thing to its most basic parts reminds me of the somewhat forensic process of collecting data for the Climate Impact Report, it’s a willingness to look further than the convenience of the ready-to-be-consumed, complete object.
Carbon Emissions: 0.7 tCO2e
We hadn't thought about counting emissions until we heard about Artists Commit. Of course we had thought about it, but we did not know where to start or what data to collect. This made it very complicated because it is often impossible to get the data after a certain period of time.
The artist's studio was very close to the venue, and the work was of small volume. So only a few Lyft were used in the transportation of the work. What happens with this process is that you begin to make all your decisions conscious and explicit. So when you begin to trace your actions, you discover that the thread that runs through them is infinite. And at some point, something stops you because you can no longer track it. In our case, we had difficulty tracking the electronic parts, LEDs, sensors, and cables that were shipped from China. There was no way to tell from the receipts whether it was air or ground, from which part of China, or the exact weight of the order.
At this point, another emission agent has appeared on the scene, related to the storage of online data. After a while these are no longer available. While it was an inconvenience to no longer have access to the information associated with the tracking number, we realized that even that data being stored on a server longer than necessary was an excess. While “the cloud” feels like an intangible place, data storage has a very real carbon footprint.
Travel: 0.1 tCO2e
Tarah travels to the studio and Venue:15 miles of travel via subway
Sabrina: 15.8 miles via taxi = less than 0.01 (tCO2e)
*The GCC template prioritized the price input over miles, but this is an estimate
Electricity: 0.6 tCO2e
When we were determining how to calculate the energy consumption of the more nuanced motion sensor sculptures, we came across a “power meter” device that allows you to plug in your appliance and measure everything from energy, volts, amps, hertz, power factor, cost, etc. While this device would greatly simplify our attempts at calculating energy consumption, we were now faced with making a decision about purchasing another electronic item from Amazon. Given that we were in the process of putting together the CIR and taking accountability for all the previous decisions, there was a much more considered discussion about if this was truly necessary. After reaching out to colleagues that would likely have a similar device, we ultimately justified making the purchase. Not only will the power meter be used to continue informing our decisions about energy use, but it could also be incorporated in the exhibition’s workshops- a real time indicator and acknowledgement of the artwork’s energy consumption for viewers to see.
Siamese Twins I = Sensor-activated: 0.001 KWh/ for 60 min with 5 activations
Microbiome I I= 0.001 KWh/ per 10 minute
Microbiome I = Sensor-activated: 0.001 KWh/ for 60 min with 5 activations
Rooted = 0.001 KWh/ for 10 min
Microbiome III = 0.001 KWh/ for 10 min
Pupae Zeppelin = 0.002 KWh/ for 10 min
Cocoon = 0.001 KWh/ for 20 min
Sculpture-Text = 0.001 KWh/ for 10 min
Vestige Stool = 0.002 KWh/ for 10 min
Siamese Twins II = Sensor-activated: 0.001 KWh/ for 60 min with 5 activations
488 hours of Artwork working = 29.28kWh
96 hours of Fun running = 7.488 kWh
80 hours Boiling Water for bioplastic making = 34.56 kWh
488 hours of Par mil Lamps for room lighting = 58.56 kWh
Total Energy 129.888 kWh
Materials Report
The main decisions to reduce emissions are related to an element that is characteristic of Sabrina's work, which is the reuse of materials and objects. While the electronic part was purchased online, most of the materials, tripods, pedestals, fragments of furniture, glass, were collected in the area around the studio or at second-hand fairs in the area. Materials for the Arts was another great help in obtaining reusable materials.
Many of the lights embedded in sculptures only turn on when approached, saving energy when not being observed, this type of motion sensor activation also reminds the viewer of the role in consuming the object.
Materails: Bioplastic, cables, adapters, branches, roots, agar, natural fibers, natural pigments, recycled mirror, recycled lenses, recycled metal and wood tripods, Signs and prints, recycled pedestal, white latex paint, 2 PAR1000 theater lights, electronic sensors, LED stripes, LED rope, lighting filters, glass bubbles, silicone, scrap metals.
Waste Report
The waste of the show is mainly related to paper. Tape used for masking skirting and lights and holding signs. Banners and prints made with the texts and descriptions of the works. All packaging materials such as bubble wrap and cardboard were reused from previous shows and will be retained to move the work back into the studio. The only new material purchased was the foam board that can definitely be reused for future projects by The Clemente or at my studio.
Reuse:
to be reused for the same purpose as the original use
cables
Adapters
Screws
Lighting
Extension cords
Repurpose:
To be kept, sold, or donated and used for a different purpose in the future
Panels and Signs
Refuse:
item was not used at all and therefore potential waste was avoided
Fabrics that were primarily intended to be used for wall coverings
Recycle:
items placed in the recycling bin
Paper
The remaining cardboard tubes from the paper tapes used.
Landfill
items sent to a landfill
Tape covering the baseboard and light tubes
REFLECTIONS
Creating a Climate Imapce report It is collective action and thinking that we should all go through, in which we can cover a wider spectrum and think from places we would never have reached alone. This experience was powerful in that sense. Because it allowed us to realize that even though we thought we were taking things into account, we were missing a lot of important aspects of the impact of their actions on the environment. Sometimes out of ignorance and sometimes out of oversight. But once you can see it, you can start working to change it.
-no printed paper next one
-trace/To make sure we are well informed about the details of the shipping.
-no banners
CREDITS
This report was created by the artist Sabrina Merayo Nunez and curator Tarah Rhoda, using a template from Artists Commit. Artists Commit CIR Mentor, Deville Cohen offered guidance, structure, and editing support.
Exhibition Link: https://www.theclementecenter.org/exhibitions-1/sympoietic