I grew up in a small farming village in Argentina, where life centered on harvests and nature. I developed a deep connection to the land. Later, while moving across different countries, I became aware of how each territory shapes its people, how culture, traditions, and rituals grow from the soil we stand on.

The selection of the materials I’m going to use in each series and their inherent symbolism play a central role; they often are the foundation of the work, I enjoyed using non-conventional materials.

In recent years, I’ve been working specifically with the yerba mate plant (ilex paraguariensis) and the tradition of drinking mate, a cultural symbol of my country of origin. This plant has a very rich history, it is originally from NE Argentina, South of Brazil, and Paraguay and, it was first collected and consumed by native guarani indigenous people and later adopted by European Conquerors.

In my more recent works I’ve been working around the concept of “displacement” of this tradition originally from South America and now present in many other geographies.

Rauschenberg’s Combines inspires this new series of works, but instead of combining ready-made objects, I’m bringing together the many possibilities I have already explored with the plant of yerba mate as material during my previous years. I have painted with its pigment; I have covered objects with the tea leaves; I have made paper incorporating it; I have mixed the tea with resin and I ‘ve screen-printing with the powder. Specifically, for this project, I’ve also explored dyeing with the pigment, investigating the range of greens I can achieve by altering the pH of the infusion, turning it more alkaline or more acidic. I have even grown the plant in my home, so I’m including its dried leaves into the work.

Therefore, this body of work mainly examines the Yerba Mate as material and its potential, bringing all the possibilities together. However, conceptually, it also addresses the idea of displacement, the inability to contain a tradition within a single geography when migration is a central aspect of contemporary life. The fabric in the work extends beyond borders, just as the tradition itself does. I see this new series as a continuation of my previous series in a more complex and interdisciplinary approach, creating paintings that are also objects or sculptures.

From the artist