For the quechua communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, man and nature have an inner energy that they call ¨Samai. To access the supranatural world, -which for them is the real world, where the true power of knowledge is found-, the shamans of the Amazon use magical plants, such as yagüe or ayahuasca.
My work is immersed both in the Amazonian indigenous cosmovision and in the origins of photography, allowing nature to express itself: plants reveal their vital force, their ¨Samai¨, in images that metaphorically become a mirror where we can see our organic essence reflected. A mirror that questions us about our relationship with nature.
With these portraits I want to contribute to the recognition of the indigenous peoples of Latin America who fight for the preservation of their ancestral culture, their lands and their environment. For this reason, I use a natural organic photographic process (chlorophyll printing) that does not use chemicals: the chlorophyll in the plants turns their leaves into photosensitive media. The prints are exposed directly to the sun on leaves that I have collected in the Amazon rainforest and in the cloud forests of the Ecuadorian Andes. Exposure times can last hours or several days.
Unlike the neutrality offered by the white surface of the photographic paper, plant leaves are canvases with their own graphic dynamics. Their contours and veins have been taken into account to achieve a visual balance and harmony in the composition, establishing a dialogue between the original photograph and the natural structure of the leaf. The final result are unique and unrepeatable photographic works.
