2016
Mexican artists in residence
Three graduates from UABJO (the University of Oaxaca Benito Juarez) hosted in Reading, supported by MERL (the Museum of English Rural Life).
Two artists selected through a public open call based in London, with studio spaces provided through UAL at Chelsea and Wimbledon art colleges.
Max Ortiz Mejia (UABJO) – painting and photography
Objectives: Using the MERL archive, researching the relationship between the photographed image and image painted from the main foods in the UK. Use close up photographic observations of foods to develop a series of paintings.
Susana Cuevas (UABJO) – photography and scientific research
Aim: Respond to archives at the Museum of English Rural Life and introduction from First Food. I want to broaden my understanding of food types in the UK to create a comparison between urban and rural produce. Learn about the cultivation, production and consumption of foods through consultation literature and specialists at the MERL. Focus on flowers-bees-fruit-honey.
Yoshie Domínguez (UABJO) – printing
"I propose to make prints of the historical and social context of essential nutrients in the UK from the artistic point of view: the history of food, its current status, its influence on everyday life, their influence on art and the effect of climate change on essential foods in the UK. I will focus on dairy production"
Chucho Caza – photography (https://chuchocaza.wordpress.com/)
"My research is based on observing and making visual notes, with the aim of reaching a piece in which sensations and feelings are expressed in a visual way, either through a series constructed scenarios in images. The research begins from the moment you arrive at the place and time work is ongoing and constant. I will be focusing on London's food culture, specifically the cultural diversity and contrast."
Victor Nicolas Bobadilla – painting
Intention: to show the relation between a staple food and the identity of a region, even a nation, and how it becomes a token of ideas, qualities and character of the people from the region it is produced . Working on the idea of barley as a symbol of sacrifice and rebirth. Looking at British folklore and literature.
