In September 2024 I traveled to Sumapaz, the largest locality of Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. I was taking part in an artist residency with Arte Sumapaz for one month. I was joined on this rural farm by ~13 other residents in the disciplines of visual art, writing, book-binding, sculpting, and music. There are various studio spaces on the campus to support the artists in their practice. Artists must stay at least 1 month to fully integrate into the space, but can stay for up to 6.
The residency was self-guided, so I could work on whatever I want at whatever pace. The only structures to the residency, aside from daily shared meals, is the once a week “Open Onces” and “CRP.”
Open Onces is where the residents discuss a somewhat philosophical topic, and artists can share what they are currently working on. CRP, also known as Critical Response Process, is a structured feedback session that focuses on one artist and their residency work. It can sometimes last hours.
The September 5th Open Onces was led by María, a Colombian writer. This was my first Open Onces session and really set the tone for the residency for me. María prompted the following to us:
- How does your identity impact the work you make/ your art/ what you are currently working on? Is it reflected in your work, or informed by it? Is it easy/difficult to tap into your identity through your art?
- Do you tap into your inner child in your work? In what ways? Is it difficult? Easy?
This conversation helped us to break the ice with each other and, as I mentioned, definitely set the tone of the residency for me. During this time, I was naturally going through a really big transition in my life- most things were changing. In that sea of change, I felt the deepest and truest aspects of me surface, and the rest wash away.
My focus in the residency was on my music – taking all of the poems and melodies from my personal archives and arranging them into songs and a set of songs. In my time I would write more, practice on the piano in the music studio, walk around the property with my handheld recorder and pay attention to the sounds I heard, and do as much work with my DAW that I could to prepare demos.
Each day I weaved, and connected to the mode of expression that my inner child always yearned for. I spent time with the other artists, and watched them in their process. Each week, I would observe the reflections of myself and each of the artists shifting and forming, as they alchemized and created new work, continued their pieces, and sat with feedback from others.
On Friday September 13th, 2 weeks into the residency, I got the idea to incorporate mirrors into a photoshoot to capture this alchemy. The mirror was to help illuminate the idea of the reflection as the visual artists sat with or continued their work. Each artist explored identity in their own way through their works; insight into past experiences, delving into heritage, tuning into their inner child, studying landscape.
As you might see in the photos, the mirror actually changes form throughout the photo study. At one point, I was in Einar’s studio space finding angles to capture. Superstitiously on Friday the 13th, I was in the middle of saying “my one job today is to not break this mirror” when the mirror broke into two pieces, slicing a large gash into my thumb. Blood began dripping down my arm, and I ran to find something to compress and dress the wound.
After my first aid, I sat reflecting on that moment. In the two weeks previous, I had had some of my deepest reflections on what were some of the most formative parts to my identity, some of which I was ready to let go, whether through an energetic release, a cord cutting, or through alchemy. I sit here now, almost 3 months later, the scar on my left thumb pulsing as I continue the deep process of identity transition and formation. My body holds this reminder; one of pain, one of healing. This process is never finished.
All photos shot on Mamiya 6 MF
EMILY DAVIS 