Agua es una — queretaro, MX
AGUA ES UNA — WATER IS ONE
A MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL OF URBAN ARTS
Water is One Mural — March 27 to April 15, 2018, in Querétaro, Mexico.
This was by far one of my favorite projects ever. It was a collaboration between Nuevo Arte Urbano and the PangeaSeed Foundation / SeaWalls: Artists for Oceans.
A groundbreaking festival of urban arts, spaning 3,000 square meters of murals, painted by 33 artists. It featured a world-class, multicultural team of local and international artists who set out to bring to the world a powerful message concerning the health of water on this planet, from desert to oceans.
The work covers nearly every inch of the enormous Centro Cultural Manuel Gómez Morín dome. Near the heart of historic Queretaro, these murals remain there today.
I painted two walls for this project over a relatively short period, byMontezuma’s revenge. I emerged from the 10 day event having dropped nearly 15lbs from exertions both on and off the toilet. The perfect Mexican diet plan for those of you wanting to know how I manage to keep my slender physique.
Agua es una — water is one
This is a collective statement;
offered in love,
reminding all that the water which nurtures this world
is the same as that running through your veins.
Water is one.
This is a collective statement;
uttered in the universal language of shared creativity,
encouraging each to care for their world.
These walls are a poetry of love,
for the water that sustains all, and toward the creation of communities
that hold sacred the waters of life.
All are one.
MURAL Uno — MEXICO — TWO FACES
On the left, evoking the colonial conquest of the Spanish, we are confronted by the penetrating gaze of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of the poor and of animals.
To the right, Quetzalcoatl — the “feathered serpent” — shares human form with the Saint, but gazes off into an undefined future. Of the traditional Mexican deities, he was the most powerful force in nature:
“He was the wind; he was the guide, the road sweeper of the rain gods, of the masters of the water, of those who Brought rain”
On the flanking side vignettes, an additional pair of hands imparts the power of yogic hand Mudras. These connect our personal vitality with the universal cosmic energy through the position of hands held in ‘blessing’.
Emanating from the flowing robes below emerge the poor and thirsty, imploring us to take action in solving our collective challenges. They remind us that the best way to face the future is to honour and deeply understand our ancestral legacies.
MANY VOICES AS ONE
Working to the left of my wall, Aaron Glasson and Renata Martinéz were already well into their incredible collaborative mural by the time I got on site. Mexican legend Sermob1 was working to my right
Our days were filled with conversations about how to weave many different voices and styles into a single, cohesive vision. We learned as we went, improving our ability to co-manage our limited shared resources, befitting a festival where all had volunteered their time and talents.
A limited range of colours was preselected to create a pleasing overall visual effect for visitors touring the expansive grounds surrounding the dome’s footprint.
No artist received compensation for their work, regardless of their status or the effort they put in.
This was truly a labor of love.
AN EVERYDAY REMINDER
Every day we perform actions as simple as turning on the water tap without knowing how difficult it is to bring the liquid from one place to the other. Querétaro, like many cities around the world, faces an enormous challenge to ensure its future. Today, cities all over the world are starting to run out of water. We have to change our own magically unique drop of water, and that change starts within.
MURAL #2 — THE AZTEC SUN STONE (CALENDAR STONE)
The falling rain, although crucial for the water cycle, posed a significant setback for a mural festival and the artists waiting for paint to dry.
To rise to the challenge of mounting time constraints due to weather and shifting production plans, we assembled buckets, brushes, and the support of an expert rappel safety team. After finishing the extended series of ground-level panels as described above, I was ready to paint the cap on this monumental altarpiece.
Festival director Edgar Sanchez and I provided the conceptual underpinning of this entire project and its relationship to the community, taking into account both historical and contemporary contexts. In a very last-minute decision, we landed on a freehanded version of the Aztec calendar to cap this epic project. This calendar represents an enormously complex work conceived by the greatest minds of an ancient culture, this time rendered not in stone but with brush.
This vision of the Sun Stone is a mystery that fully reveals itself only in flight, like the tens of thousands of birds that flock above this crowning piece of Foucault’s Pendulum at dusk every night.
To perceive order from the chaos going on around us, we must elevate ourselves and one another to realize the picture.
THE FOUR PILLARS OF HEAVEN
“Jason’s sun is essential to complete the altarpiece, because it constitutes the ornamentation that links Heaven to Earth, unifies the four pillars of heaven and explains the pre-Hispanic worldview: in the navel of the Moon, in the center of the Earth, where hearts rise to the Sun.
Edgar Sanchez, Founder (Nuevo Arte Urbano)
At the apex of the dome, Jason depicts the four pillars of heaven from Mesoamerican mythology. Before the universe existed, there was a single infinite consciousness known as “Ometeotl,” which split into two to give birth to the four “Tezcatlipocas.” These pillars are said to uphold the sky above the earth, allowing for the creation of all things and natural phenomena in the four lower levels of heaven. Positioned at the cardinal points of North, South, East, and West, these pillars correspond to the elements of water, fire, earth, and wind. Jason’s pillar also represents the pathways through which atmospheric forces, particularly rain, travel.”
“THE SPIRIT OF WATER IS ONE” — THE BIGGER PICTURE
“Faced with what seemed an insurmountable task, artist Jason Botkin and I stood before the kiosk serving as the operations center for the “Water is One” project. Despite the daunting challenge of completing the murals atop the Dome in the limited time remaining, our foreboding sense of urgency was met with calm resolve.
After eleven grueling days, exhaustion hung heavy on the team, and with less than ten days left, the possibility of leaving the pinnacle unfinished loomed. Jason, the team and I engaged in a dialogue seeking a solution. The thought of an unfinished work pained us, yet the task ahead was complex andd— perilous. Ideas and safety considerations flowed amidst intense discussions until we settled on a strategy, and Botkin courageously embraced the challenge, despite radically conflicting opinions on the subject.
Three long days later, the air around the dome was thick with copal incense, the resonance of the armadillo shell, and the chants of the dancing concheros. Don Manuel Rodríguez, captain general of the Chichimeca group “In Xochitl in Cuícatl,” led his dancers in blessing each artist and mural in turn, encircling the Dome clockwise, symbolizing unity and wholeness.
Apprehension had transformed into euphoria as we admired our completed work and Botkin’s solar offering at the dome’s apex, delivered on time and in grandeur!”
Edgar Sanchez, Founder (Nueve Arte Urbana)
“The question arose: what motivates us to undertake such immense voluntary work? The answer was clear to all involved in the project.
“Water is One” offered an intensely vital experience and a meaningful dialogue with the community. Each brushstroke connected the artist to a meditative state, seeking symbols to express our personal and collective identity. Each artwork demonstrated a commitment to humanity’s survival in the face of environmental threats to water and ecosystems. Each voluntary act fostered individual exploration of cultural freedom. We did it to inspire positive environmental transformation, because it was right, and because we could. And we did!
Among the many generous participants, I must highlight the contribution of my friend Jason. He diligently swept the artists’ house floor, hung from a rappelling rope to capture the celestial offering, lost seven kilos over grueling weeks, and fervently sought solutions to achieve our goal.
Thus, we stood united before the kiosk, hands joined like warriors and brothers, empowering our shared commitment, despite some discomfort about the task’s risks. At that moment, we forged a magical pact. Jason embraced the challenge, embodying the project’s spirit: offering talent, life, and resources to create something impeccable, setting an example of dreams fulfilled, and catalyzing a monumental act of community production.
Today, the world boasts remarkable works of urban art, each fan cherishing their own list of favorites. On my list, our Dome reigns supreme, with its steadfast celestial vault symbolizing the dance of heaven and earth through Foucault’s pendulum. This poem encapsulates the project’s essence, echoing the ancestral verse that unites the diverse Mexican identities: “In the navel of the Moon, in the center of the Earth, where we offer our hearts to the Sun.”
This monumental mural, a narrative of narratives, heralds a new yet ancient paradigm: reminding people of their collective power to create and transform their circumstances, surpassing that of any individual acting alone.”
Translated from here.
LEST it be FORGotten
Edgar’s company, Incusa, made this collaboration possible with a two million peso investment. Incusa is the winner of the 2016 National Quality Award, represents a significant cultural legacy for Querétaro and the world.
These murals are not just simple works of art; they are a profound gift to humanity.
The participating artists generously donated their time and talent to address pressing global issues such as water conservation, waste management, and environmental exploitation.
Through projects of this sort, I’ve made many dear friends, who i stay in touch with to the day. Like my friend Dawn Saunders Dahl likes to say about the process of reconciliation, if you’re not going into these conversations prepared to potentially make a friend for life, don’t bother showing up.
Spécial thanks to guest photographers Yoshi Travel Films for capturing these beautiful details.
Edgar Sánchez…thank you for your passion, dedication and deeply spiritual vision! Much love brother.
