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Water can conform to its container, or it can gather in force as whelming as a wave. What will you choose?
Volume 03: Flourish / Collapse
A journey along the axis of abundance and absence, proliferation and putrescence, life and death
An exploration of geographic location and freedom of action and thought
This issue seeks to answer the question: What does “natural” mean now?
Liliana Merizalde is a Colombian documentary photographer and visual artist based in Bogotá. She is interested in identity, memory and territory issues generally linked to women and their strength. She usually mixes documentary photography with staging based on life stories used as a vehicle to deepen the way in which social, political and community situations are documented and understood.
In what ways does nature inspire or inform your work?
I’ve always been obsessed with natural light and the indescribable beauty of plants, and my work is related to nature in many ways. First from a documentary point of view: I’m interested in environmental issues, sustainability, global warming, land issues, etc. But I’m also very interested in the direct and sometimes subtle relationship of the human being with nature, such as the unconscious way in which everything is connected, myths and stories and the ways in which certain communities and societies have preserved an awareness of the direct relationship between all our actions and all living beings, including the Earth. Also I’m constantly questioning the artificial systems in which we have been forced to live (sometimes forced ourselves), like narratives that take us away from nature, and also like the predominant economic system that disconnects us from what we really are and which is extremely pyramidal and patriarchal.
What does it mean to you to be part of a thriving ecosystem?
For me a thriving ecosystem is born from the awareness of understanding that everything is absolutely connected. That each of our actions affects the entire planet, other human beings, animals, everything that lives. Creating and nurturing interdependent relationships that oppose slavery, abuse, violence, and injustice, and from this point, building and individuality that works hand in hand with the whole.
